Hand of Sorrow
by KHLostEmpress
Summary: Modern Fantasy Tale: There are 40 Clows, guardian spirits people can be born with. To save her kidnapped father, Sakura offers herself in exchange and is given to Wolf, a man who is possessed by the most terrifying Clow of all. Beauty and the Beast
1. Loss, Sacrifice, and Hope

Author's Notes: A Modern Fantasy Tale based on Beauty and the Beast.

In advance, I have to tell you that some names and relationships have been changed slightly for the sake of the story. Also, I'm only using the Clow Cards that I think would work for how I've portrayed them.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura._

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><p>It wasn't Ruby's first time using her father's Clow, <strong>Fly<strong>. Her father, Eriol Reed, Head of the Clan, had made her and her mother, Kaho, practice using it often—sometimes for hours on end—in the past few weeks, just for the purpose of this singular mission. Ruby couldn't exactly say she was completely okay with the whole idea of what they were about to do. Their target was just a little kid, but her father said they had to do it now, before he grew more proficient at using his Clows. And as he was the Head of the Clan, she was bound to do what he said as a Reed herself.

The night was quiet around them as it was late but not quite midnight. Ruby was aware of how her parents knew it was unlikely they would find the Li estate completely asleep at any time, day or night. The animosity between the three Clow families, especially the Reed Clan and the Li Dynasty—the Amamiya Family tended to be the most neutral of the three groups—ran far too deep for any of them to leave themselves vulnerable to each other.

However, the only sound Ruby could hear was the swooshing beat of their wings. They flew close enough together that they could see one another, but not so close as to interrupt each other's flight paths. It had been a long journey here, almost halfway around the world—most of that was made on a plane; they were only using Eriol's Clow for the last leg of it. They had a good plan of infiltration, despite the unknowns. Ruby hoped they would be too grief-stricken to follow them. Their escape had always been the biggest flaw. But her father had insisted that the reward would be worth the risk.

The large estate of the Li Dynasty came into view and the three of them descended down to the ground inside the walls, just far away from the manor house not to be noticed. As soon as their feet touched the ground, and they had their footing, the wings disappeared from their backs in what appeared to be white whirls of wind and then gathered on Eriol's right shoulder, changing shape into an actual being. Ruby knew that her father had recalled his Clow back into its original form.

In this form, **Fly** was a small white bird with a long neck like a swan and long feathers sticking out of the top of its head. Its eyes were completely blue and its beak was short and sharp. Ruby knew that the bird could grow large enough to ride on if Eriol wished it rather than give a person wings like her father had done tonight. It was a moment later that the bird disappeared completely, returning to the nether space where Clows wait until they are called out.

Ruby looked up at her father and took a minute to study him. He was a taller man with blue-black hair and rounded square glasses covering his determined blue-grey eyes. There was a tight set to his jaw that revealed his tightly wrapped emotions. Nevertheless, Ruby couldn't even begin to tell exactly what those emotions were. Her mother, on the other hand, had her worry and distress easily displayed in her light brown eyes and the tight set of her lips. She trailed an uneasy hand through her auburn hair, a color that Ruby nearly inherited herself but with far more brown than her mother. Ruby did, however, have the same brown eyes, if a few shades darker.

"Eriol, are you sure that we should do this?" Kaho asked him troubled. She glanced up at the house before returning her gaze to her husband.

Ruby looked back and forth between her parents, remaining silent. After all, she had some misgivings about the mission herself. Kaho and Ruby both watched Eriol as they waited for his answer. Finally, her father nodded slowly, the tenseness in his jaw releasing as he spoke. "They'll use him against us," Eriol said firmly. "You know they've been waiting for a chance like this for centuries, Kaho."

Kaho hesitated for another second before she nodded some sadness and regret filling her eyes, but Ruby didn't know whether it was directed at the mission or at Eriol. "I need to remind you that I doubt Yelan will be affected for very long," Kaho said to them, as she had countless times before during their preparations. "You'll only have minutes to do it."

Eriol and Ruby nodded; Ruby's a little more apprehensive than her father. Yelan Li was a powerful Clow holder, perhaps more powerful than any of them with the exception of Eriol, and those with more magical power than one's self were harder to affect with one's Clow, especially one of Kaho's type. Their plan relied on Kaho's Clow working for at least some time against Yelan and the rest of the house.

Eriol closed his eyes and suddenly a tiny woman, no bigger than the length of his hand, appeared in front of him. She had on a long flowing gown with long wide sleeves and a slit on one side of her skirt all the way up to her hips. A large oval blue jewel was imbedded on the center of her forehead and she had large round earrings in her lobes. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail almost on the top of her head with two circles above the tie and one single long thin tail that went all the way down to her feet. In her hand she held a paper-thin silvery black disk. Ruby knew that it was another one of her father's Clows, **Through**.

A moment later, another Clow appeared, this time in front of Kaho. It was a small old man, covered completely in a cloak, except for his face which had a long crooked nose at the very center of it. His ears ended in long thin points that went well past the edges of his hood. On his forehead were brown markings. Floating about his hands was an hourglass, full of tumbling sand. It was her mother's Clow, **Time**, which she didn't often call out because of the vast magical power it consumed when used, leaving the user in a weakened state. All Clows took a physical and magical toll on their users—some more than others—that was only recovered through time and rest; how much depended on the amount of magical energy used. Her mother could be in recovery for nearly a week if she used **Time** for as long as she could.

"Come along, Ruby," Eriol said as he grabbed her hand and they began running to the house.

Behind them, she heard her mother call out, "**Time**!" With the exception of a rare few, the Clows' powers could not be activated without first calling out their name, regardless of whether they had already been called out from the nether place where they rested. However, once their name was called, there wasn't any need to give them more instruction as the Clow would be able to perceive its master's will without being told.

Around Eriol and Ruby, the world took on a slightly golden cast as everything froze around them thanks to the power of **Time**. If they were lucky, they would be the only ones unaffected by the Clow, as per Kaho's will. The two of them reached the walls of the house and walked right through them, thanks to the power of Eriol's Clow, which he activated by calling its name. Nothing stood in their way as they ran past the frozen people inside the house.

They found the room they were looking for, which held only one small sleeping occupant. Ruby and Eriol approached the side of the bed. "Oh, Father, he's so cute and adorable," Ruby said excitedly, giving freely her first impression of the four year old Syaoran Li.

"Ruby, that's not really important," Eriol admonished, but Ruby could hear the slightly amused cord in his tone.

"Sorry, Father," Ruby said not quite repentant. When they suddenly heard the rustling of the bed sheets, they both turned their gaze back to the boy in the bed. Ruby's eyes widened in surprise. "Father, he's not frozen," Ruby said completely shocked as the boy sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. She might have been worried that her mother's magic had worn out if it wasn't for the fact that the world around them was still silent and golden. Ruby didn't know how it was possible that he would have been completely unaffected by **Time**.

Syaoran seemed to wake up a little more as his hand fell, and his expression turned hard when he looked at the two of them. "Who are you?" the little boy demanded standing up on his bed, and Ruby was again surprised, this time by the authority and confidence in that young voice. "You don't belong here."

Before Ruby's eyes, two Clows appeared next to the boy, two small beautiful regal women with stares like ice as they looked at Ruby and Eriol. One of the women was almost completely white with long glorious curling hair and a tall crown circling her white locks. Her dress had a dipping neckline that trailed down to her stomach with black along its lines. The gown broke up off her shoulders and surrounded her neck like a crown. On her chest, just below her neck, there was a jewel that appeared to look like a golden sunburst. In one hand, she held a glowing sun, while the other held a living cloud.

The other woman was the first's polar opposite as she was almost completely black. Her dress was cut the exact same as the white woman's, except that it was black with white lines along its edges. Around her neck was a ring of silvery black jewels. Her hair was long and straight with a color as black as midnight with the same white crown giving a stark contrast to her ebony hair. In one hand she held a radiant crescent moon and the other held a bright star.

Ruby knew that these two women were the Attribute Clows **Light** and **Dark**, two of the most powerful Clows in existence with only the Elemental Clows—**Windy**, **Watery**, **Firey**, and **Earthy**—rivaling their power. The amount of people who had been partnered with the Attributes could be counted on one hand, partly due to the amount of raw magical power needed to support even one of them. They were the only known Clows that had to be partnered to one person at the same time, the other reason that so few had possessed them. **Light** and **Dark** could not be separated from each other—it was simply impossible. The fact that they were Syaoran's Clows gave an indication of how much power the little boy had.

And that was the very reason Ruby and Eriol were standing in his room now. Ruby knew that her father feared that one day the Li Dynasty would use Syaoran against them and he could not let that happen to their family. No matter what the cost was to be.

Eriol suddenly chuckled softly as he reached into his pocket. "Do it now, Ruby," he ordered as he closed the distance between himself and the boy quickly—before he had the chance to call out his Clows' names and activate them.

"All right, Father," Ruby answered just the tiniest bit reluctantly as she called out her own Clow to complete her own part in this mission.

* * *

><p>Yelan Li glanced around her slightly off balance. The world had a golden sheen to it and her husband was frozen in front of her mid-sentence. She devised instantly that someone must by using the Clow <strong>Time<strong>, but she hadn't even known that Clow was partnered with anyone. Yelan had no way of even knowing if she herself had been frozen or how long it had stopped her if it had. She knew she had to have more magical power than the person using it; that was the only way she wouldn't be under the influence of the Clow.

She wondered what they could possibly be after. The house held many priceless artifacts, but none that held much worth to Yelan. The Clows they possessed were the true treasures of the Li Dynasty, and those could not be stolen by any means.

Suddenly, the dream her Clow had bestowed the night before came back with startling clarity. Though it was the only Clow that could use its powers without the will of its partner and one of the few whose power could be used without calling out its name, **Dream** didn't often take the initiative, except when someone close to Yelan was in danger. Yelan had been worried all day, trying to figure out what it meant and who was in danger. Now, she was afraid that she had figured it out.

The strange warped color to the world faded and her husband began talking again. But Yelan didn't hear him. She pushed past him, hiking the skirt of her kimono up to her knees as she started to run. Her husband called out her name, but she didn't stop, suddenly wishing she had her sister's Clow **Dash**.

She startled servants as she passed them, most of them never having seen her run before. Wei called out, "Lady Yelan!" But still she did not stop, hoping she would be time. She _had_ to be on time. She could hear his quick steps behind her and was peripherally thankful for it. She could trust Wei.

Yelan finally reached her destination and came to a halt. Her hand was trembling as it reached for the handle, hoping she would find him sleeping peacefully inside, just as she had left him a few hours ago. She opened the door and let out a piercing cry at what met her eyes.

Her Syaoran, her little baby boy, lay lifeless on the ground, his amber eyes giving the appearance of being made of glass as they seemed to be staring into nothing.

Yelan walked over and kneeled next to him, reaching out her shaking hand to close his eyes. She heard Wei's voice, full of compassion and sorrow, behind her say, "Oh, Lady Yelan…"

She reached out her arms and gathered the small boy in them. She pulled him close as silent tears trailed down her cheeks.

* * *

><p>Nadeshiko Kinomoto hummed in the garden as she worked in it with her Clow <strong>Flower<strong> hovering around her, using the small young-looking girl here and there when a plant needed some encouragement. **Flower** was a fun-loving gentle Clow with white hair in two corkscrew pigtails. She wore a long pink ball gown dress with flower bracelets and earrings. On her forehead and chest were pink flower patterned symbols. **Flower** was just as enthusiastic as Nadeshiko in the garden.

Nadeshiko looked up from her garden. Her quiet nonsensical song stopped as she found herself looking at her usually bright and energetic daughter sitting quietly on the lawn, staring out across the road. The cherry blossoms on the trees in the streets were indeed beautiful to look at, but usually Sakura would be running around under the falling petals rather than observing them peacefully.

Slightly worried, Nadeshiko dismissed **Flower** as she walked over to her daughter. As she got closer, she noticed one of Sakura's Clows, **Windy**, hovering protectively over one shoulder. **Windy **had long elegant yellow hair with a large green wing-like pattern flowing out from the center of her forehead. She had golden wings gracefully hanging from her shoulders. **Windy** was one of the mildest and gentlest Clows, despite being one of the most powerful, making it easy for Sakura to control even at her young age. But the fact that Sakura had her Clow out at all gave Nadeshiko a wary feeling that all was not well. Sakura did not often call out her Clows.

"Sakura," she said gently as she kneeled down next to her.

Sakura's smile was quick and cheerful as she turned her emerald gaze—a color she had inherited from Nadeshiko herself—to her mother. "Good morning, Mommy!"

She was so much like her usual self that Nadeshiko almost pushed away the feeling that something was wrong, but she still pressed on as she trailed her fingers through Sakura's light brown hair, almost the exact shade of Fujitaka's, her beloved husband. "Is everything all right, dear? Has Toya been teasing you again?"

Sakura giggled. "No, Mommy," she said. "I'm okay, but I think something bad happened somewhere else. Somewhere far away. I dreamed about it last night," she finished quietly as her gaze took on a glazed look as she stared back out at the cherry trees.

Nadeshiko would not have been surprised to know that her daughter had sensed something that happened to someone far away. Clow Bearers with powerful magic, such as Sakura, could feel things about those they were connected to, like their family. Nadeshiko began to worry about her family, whom she hadn't had contact with since she ran away with Fujitaka over a decade ago. Masaki Amamiya—her father—and Sonomi—her sister—hadn't approved of the marriage, but she had been so in love with him that in the moment she hadn't cared. Her father had made it very clear that she would not be welcomed back if she returned.

But then again, Sakura also could have sensed something that had happened to Fujitaka's family, but Nadeshiko didn't really know them at all because she had never seen them and Fujitaka did not talk about them. Her husband had left his family a long time ago, but they were still family and connected to Sakura by those ties.

"Do you think there's something I could do to help?" Sakura asked.

Nadeshiko smiled at her as she said, "I think that as long as you are yourself, everything will be all right." She finished by touching the tip of Sakura's nose affectionately, which caused the little girl to collapse in a fit of giggles.

The young girl then ran down the lawn, flung out her arms, and called, "**Windy**!" The tiny fairy woman flew out into the trees, causing the pink petals to fall around her with a gentle wind. Sakura twirled around in the pink rain, laughing brightly. Nadeshiko watched her daughter with a content smile on her face.


	2. The Three Families

_Seventeen years later…_

Sakura Kinomoto hustled into her grandfather's house, completely dripping wet, muttering under her breath about the universe that most certainly out to get her that night. "Miss Sakura," a voice called out and Sakura turned to see Rika Sasaki, a taller woman with short brown hair that curled at the end around her cheeks and the only Clow Bearer—her Clow was **Power**—not related by blood in the Amamiya Family household, walking toward her followed (as she always was) by Yoshiyuki Terada, a very tall handsome man with short reddish brown hair and Rika's fiancé, despite a rather vast age difference between them. "Can I get you a towel or anything, Miss Sakura?" Rika asked with a gentle smile.

"Please, Rika, just call me Sakura," Sakura said to her.

"Yes, Miss Sakura," Rika replied promptly, as Sakura knew she would, because it was her reply every time she had ever asked Rika to call her by her first name. And Sakura had been trying for almost four years, ever since Rika joined the Amamiya household, but the farthest she had ever gotten was getting Rika to stop calling her "Miss Kinomoto" about a year ago. "Can I get you anything?" Rika asked.

"I think I can manage, but thank you, Rika," Sakura said and then she concentrated for a moment. One of her Clows, **Firey**, appeared in front of her. Child-like in appearance, **Firey** had long pointed ears and hair made of fire with a headband around its forehead with a large red jewel directly in the center. It had orange wings that looked similar to an angel's and the bottom half of its body was covered with fire. **Firey** had a rather temperamental and mischievous nature and quite a fierce rivalry with **Watery**, which is why Sakura usually made sure never to call both of them out at the same time. Concentrating on drying herself off, she called out the Clow's name to activate its powers.

With an impish grin, **Firey** turned into flames and quickly flew around her in circles. About half a minute later, Sakura stood completely dry—though her clothes were a little steamy. Thinking perhaps she should probably use **Windy** too next time she needed to use **Firey** like this, she said to the Clow, "Thank you." **Firey** gave her a bright smile before disappearing.

"Sakura!"

Looking up in the direction of the voice, Sakura smiled as she saw her cousin and best friend, Tomoyo Amamiya, descending gracefully down the stairs. Tomoyo was slightly shorter than Sakura, but her long black tresses—unlike Sakura's brown hair which was barely long enough to pull back into a ponytail—fell well past her waist. Her skin was porcelain pale and she possessed impossible violet eyes. Sakura was quite sure that she would never possess the same beauty and grace that Tomoyo seemed to just naturally have.

The two girls met when Tomoyo had moved to Tomoeda, the town where Sakura grew up, when they were eleven. They had ended up in the same class in their elementary school and had sort of just hit it off instantly, being near inseparable from that day forward. One day, when Sakura brought Tomoyo home with her, she had gotten introduced to Sakura's mother, Nadeshiko, who instantly recognized Tomoyo's surname as her own maiden name and realized that Tomoyo was the daughter of her own older sister, Sonomi. Sakura and Tomoyo had been completely delighted to discover they were actually cousins—just one small step from being sisters. Through Tomoyo, Nadeshiko had reconnected with her sister and then had finally been welcomed back into the family by her father, Masaki, who had come to regret his actions of disowning Nadeshiko in anger and losing out on the chance to get to know his other two grandchildren.

"Tomoyo! See you later, Rika," she said to the girl beside her before she raced to Tomoyo, where they embraced each other in a hug. Sakura pulled back from Tomoyo and asked, "How is she doing?"

Tomoyo looked grieved as she took Sakura's hand and led her up the stairs. "I left **Song** with her while I came down to greet you. The music seems to soothe her and **Song** can keep singing for far longer than I can," Tomoyo answered as they walked down the hallway once they reached the top of the stairs. As they came closer to the door at the end of the hall, Sakura heard the unmistakable cadence of Tomoyo's voice coming from inside the door, though her cousin was standing right next to her with her mouth shut.

They opened the door and entered the bedroom on the other side. Sakura's mother, Nadeshiko, was sitting in a chair by the window, staring out into the scenery beyond, while her sister and Tomoyo's mother, Sonomi stood behind her, sliding a brush through Nadeshiko's long purplish black locks. Other than their eye color, Nadeshiko and Tomoyo looked very much alike with nearly the same color hair and pale skin. Sonomi, unlike her sister and daughter, had short reddish brown hair and dark blue eyes. Above Nadeshiko hovered Tomoyo's Clow **Song**, which looked like a young woman with long purple hair with a blue headdress over her ears in the shape of the treble clef. Her dress was long and narrow, flaring out at the bottom, and gave the appearance that it looked like a string instrument, like a cello. Tomoyo must have recalled **Song** when they walked in as the Clow gave a small bow and disappeared.

Sakura ran over to her mother and enveloped her in a hug. Nadeshiko's grip was very tight as she returned the gesture. "I never should have let him return to England," Nadeshiko whispered in Sakura's ear.

"Return to England?" Sakura asked as she pulled away a bit. She knew that her father, Fujitaka Kinomoto, had disappeared on his trip there—Tomoyo had said as much when she called Sakura this morning—but she didn't know that her father had ever been there before. Nadeshiko looked back at Sonomi and Sakura thought they looked rather worried…no, more like anxious, as if they thought too much had been said. Sakura glanced over at Tomoyo, who conveyed her equal confusion with a minor lift of her shoulders and a small shake of her head. Not wanting to put any more pressure on her mother, Sakura straightened to more fully face Tomoyo and asked, "Has Toya arrived yet?"

And Sakura knew that Tomoyo understood her intentions immediately though the softening of her eyes and the slight upturn of the corner of her lips. "I called him just after I finished talking to you," Tomoyo said, her tone of voice not revealing for a second that she was part of a subterfuge. "He has farther to travel than you did, but he said he would come as fast as he could. There was something that he had to do personally that he couldn't leave to **Mirror **before he came, but he said that it wouldn't take long. I imagine that he should be here soon."

"Girls," Sonomi said suddenly and Sakura looked at her aunt, who was setting down the brush on the table near her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tomoyo do the same. There was a knowing and somewhat exasperated— surprising with the smallest hints of anger—look on her face. "You don't have to do that. We don't mind telling you about it, it's just that…"

"We never thought we would have to," Nadeshiko finished still with a heartbreaking sadness etched across her face. "I don't even really know the whole story."

"Then perhaps I should be the one to tell them."

Sakura glanced over at the door where a sturdy older man with graying brown hair and somewhat sad dark eyes. "Grandfather!" Sakura greeted him with a wide smile. Masaki Amamiya returned her smile with a small one of his own before he came and sat in the only empty chair of the room with a heavy sigh. Tomoyo and Sakura exchanged a glance before both of them went to sit together on the edge of the bed.

Masaki rubbed a hand down his face before he began to speak. "I've told you before about the three families of Clow Bearers, yes," he asked them. Both Sakura and Tomoyo nodded and Masaki continued to speak, "About thirty years ago, I was approached by a young man, a Clow Bearer, seeking sanctuary from his family. Despite the fact that I had felt some uncertainties about it, I accepted him into my household, where he stayed for a period of time. As you might guess, Sakura, it was your father, Fujitaka Kinomoto, or I might say, as that was his real name before he changed it, Fujitaka Reed."

"Reed?" Sakura repeated shocked.

"You mean, as in the Reed Clan?" Tomoyo added after a shocked gasp of her own.

Masaki nodded solemnly and his shoulders slumped heavily. "The Reed Clan acts mostly like a vigilante group in England, acting at their own discretion against crime factions. Unlike our family, who mostly use our Clows in a more minor capacity to protect ourselves or for entertainment and beauty purposes, the Reed Clan uses their Clows—which have been typically more offensive—to get their work done and to fight against those who have no defense against their magic. And, even though what they do is technically illegal, their government tends to turn somewhat of a blind eye to it, even though they do not know about the Clows, they know that the Clan brings in criminals. Fujitaka was feeling apprehensive about some of the more…ambiguous decisions his twin brother, who was next in line for Head of the Clan at the time, was making in their vigilante efforts and decided to leave the Clan for good. Knowing he couldn't seek refuge among the Li Dynasty, who are typically at odds with the Reed Clan about their methods and uses for their Clows, he found us here and asked for my help. He thought his brother would be rather angry at his leaving and sought further to hid himself by changing his last name."

"It was because of his past as a Reed that Father and I were against his marriage to Nadeshiko in the beginning," Sonomi added into the silence that fell after Masaki finished the story. "We thought…well, we assumed that he was still a Reed and would always be a Reed. We thought he would put Nadeshiko in danger by entwining her life into his own. But after all those years past without anything happening, I thought we would be safe from the Reed Clan's retribution and began to regret letting Nadeshiko run away from us with him."

"So, you think that someone from the Reed Clan recognized him while he was in England and kidnapped him?" Tomoyo asked, which had been the very question on the tip of Sakura's tongue, but her mind was reeling too much trying to process all the information to actually ask it.

"It seems the likely situation," Masaki said after a moment of thought. "It would be too much of a coincidence for him to disappear in England without the Reed Clan being involved, but there are few ways to be absolutely sure."

Sakura jumped up as she grasped onto his words. "But, there is a way, right? How can we find out what's really happened?"

Masaki turned his gaze away for a moment as an apprehensive silence fell around the room. After a few seconds, he first looked at Nadeshiko and Sonomi before looking back at Sakura and Tomoyo. When he spoke, it was slowly as if he was unsure that he should be saying anything at all. "Of the forty Clows that exist, there are only two Clows that allow someone to see things that they normally would not be able to. And both are currently partnered to the same person."

"Father," Sonomi suddenly called out sharply. "You cannot be suggesting that she go there. It would be completely foolish, not to mention really dangerous. They haven't ever been really welcome to visitors, but they've been particularly ruthless since the tragedy."

"Perhaps you are right," Masaki said, nodding slowly and falling silent once more.

Sakura glanced back and forth between the two of them. Sonomi looked livid, but also slightly apprehensive. Nadeshiko, sitting in the chair beside her, still looked crestfallen, but she seemed to be sharing in Sakura's confusion in the depth of her features. Masaki, on the other hand, looked somewhat defeated. Sakura looked over at Tomoyo, who gave a small shake of her head and a shrug, revealing that she also did not know what her mother and their grandfather were talking about. Sakura came to a decision and got to her feet. "I don't care," she said to no one in particular, not really knowing who she was addressing. "If it's something that can help Dad, then I want to know about it. And I have my Clows to protect me, if it does turn out to be dangerous."

After a few more seconds of silence, Masaki finally spoke again. "She's not an unreasonable woman, Sonomi. Our families have had friendships in the past. I would not tell Sakura if I thought she would come to harm there."

Sonomi made a dismissing sound as she turned her head away. "If you're sure, Father," was her only reply. "But if she goes, I'm sending Rika and Terada with her."

Masaki nodded once, but once again fell silent. This time it was Tomoyo who spoke next as she asked, "Who exactly are you talking about?"

"The woman who is partnered to the Clows we need is Yelan Li," Masaki answered. Sakura's eyes widened in surprise when she heard that name. She'd never actually met any members of the Li Dynasty, who were probably the most exclusive and secretive of the three Clow Bearer families, but after reconnecting with the Amamiya Family, she'd heard all about the Clows and the three families. Tomoyo told her that she'd heard from her grandfather that Yelan Li had always been seen as a rather strict and stern woman, but after a tragedy in the family—the last of her children, a small boy, had died unexpectedly when he was really young—she'd become really cold and had shut out much of the world in her grief. The Amamiya Family and Li Dynasty had been on almost friendly speaking terms before the incident—that had stopped immediately after—but Tomoyo confided that Masaki hoped that a reconnection could still occur some day.

But her father was in danger and needed her help and Sakura wasn't going to let one woman—powerful Clow Bearer or not—stand in her way. "I'll go speak to her," she said determined.

Nadeshiko unexpectedly got to her feet and walked over to her. She took Sakura's hands into her own as she said, "Are you sure, Sakura? Fujitaka would not have wanted to put yourself in danger for him. I know you have powerful Clows of your own, but—I don't want to lose you, too."

Sakura nodded. "She'll help us, Mom," she said with a certainty she suddenly felt. "I know it. Everything will be all right, you'll see."

Nadeshiko looked into her eyes and slowly nodded. "Be careful. Are you going to wait for Toya to arrive before you go?" she asked as she let Sakura's hands drop.

Sakura shook her head firmly. "You know Toya," she said with a bright smile. "He'd never let me go without him, and if he's left **Mirror** behind, then he hasn't got a way to protect himself anymore. I'll take Rika and Terada. They should be enough protection."

She looked at Tomoyo, who gave her an understanding smile. "I know," she said, gripping Sakura into a hug. "I'd like to go with you, but I know **Song** would be useless for an occasion like this. I'll be here waiting for you to return with your father."

"Thanks, Tomoyo," Sakura said. "I'll come back soon, you'll see." She gave hugs to her aunt and grandfather—who told her he would get her on the first available flight to Hong Kong, where the Li Dynasty lived—before leaving the room to go find Rika and Terada so that she could tell them to start packing before she headed to her own room to do the same.

* * *

><p>It looked like a tree, but it was completely black—as if it was merely a cutout—so Yelan could not tell what type of tree it was—it wasn't an evergreen, but rather one that was full of leaves—a fruit tree, perhaps. But it must have something to do with her or the future of someone close to her or else <strong>Dream <strong>would not have shown it to her, for she had not called on her Clow's power before she had gone to sleep.

She looked around to see if there was anything else around her and she saw on her other side another black shape, as if something was lying curled up on the ground. It wasn't a person—the shape was all wrong—but it could be some sort of animal, but she couldn't say for sure what it was…possibly a dog or a large cat.

Yelan looked from the tree to the mysterious animal, wondering why **Dream** could possibly showing her this. No one in her family had any particular connection to trees or animals, and she couldn't gleam any danger from either of the figures. Her Clow's power gave prophetic dreams generally, so she would have to be vigilant in the future to see if there was any connection to this dream.

Never again would she allow something to happen to her family when she had the knowledge to stop it.


	3. Wolf and Sand

The wind slipped through the air, rushing through the chimes placed outside her window, filling the air with their melodious sound that subtly added to the tranquility of the world rather than clashing with the peace. Yelan breathed in deeply, relishing in the aroma of the tea in the cup held in her hands just below her face. She took a small sip of the sweet liquid—it was her ritual every day, something she did as a release from the reality that she lived with...the reality that she was still missing them.

"Lady Yelan?"

Yelan set down her teacup without looking towards the doorway and acknowledging the disturbance to her peaceful world. "What is it, Wei?" she asked the man who had addressed her, letting just barely a hint of her ire cross her tone, though she knew that Wei would not have disturbed her for any light reason.

"There are some visitors at the gate asking to see you—two young ladies and a gentleman," Wei told her.

Yelan felt only a slash of annoyance, but she breathed the air deeply and calmly asked, "Did they say what they wanted?"

"Just that they wanted to see you."

Yelan picked up her cup and sipped her tea again, contemplating this new bit of information. She was not fond of visitors and did not often leave the complex, leaving most business affairs to her daughters and their husbands, especially since…her own husband passed away. If they did not have any important business, then she did not want to see them. As she brought the cup away from her lips and said, "Send them away, Wei."

"As you wish, my Lady."

But only a moment passed before Yelan remembered her dream of yesterday. Perhaps these visitors were what **Dream** wanted to tell her about. "Wait," she said and Wei stopped having not even made it out the door. "Did they give their names?" she asked him.

"I believe the one introduced herself as a Ms. Sakura Kinomoto."

"Kinomoto?" she repeated. She knew that name from a very long time ago, back when her oldest daughter had just barely been born. "From the Amamiya Family?" she asked to clarify.

"Yes, my Lady."

But Yelan barely heard as her mind was already making another connection. The girl's name was Sakura—a name which meant cherry blossoms…a name that could be associated with a tree. The fact that she was possibly a Clow Bearer…Yelan wasn't one to believe in so many coincidences. "Allow Ms. Kinomoto in. Have her leave her companions behind. Send in Meilin and Feimei to me, as well." If Ms. Kinomoto was indeed a Clow Bearer, she wanted to have someone else at her side—while she, herself, was very powerful, neither of her Clows had much offensive capabilities. She did not believe the Amamiya Family would have sent someone to attack her, but she had indeed learned caution…in the very hardest of ways.

"At once, my Lady."

Yelan set down her teacup again as Wei left. Her eyes stared out the window into the gardens beyond. Now, she would see.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure this is the place?" Sakura asked her two companions anxiously after the door closed as one of the men standing outside the vast vermillion doors with round copper handles entered the walled area. She glanced over at the two giant lion statues on either side of the small set of stairs. She'd seen pictures like them before but she'd never realized the actual things could look so scary and intimidating. Or that they were just so huge.<p>

Terada nodded and said, "It was the address that your grandfather gave us."

"I think they would have turned us away immediately if this wasn't the right place, Miss Sakura," Rika added with a small reassuring smile. "We did ask specifically for Mrs. Yelan Li."

"Oh," Sakura said with a small jolt of realization. "I guess I didn't think about that," she said with a laugh as she felt a slight flush of embarrassment race across her cheeks. She rubbed her face as she remembered to think about her father missing and her mother waiting back at her grandfather's place. She had to save her father…before her brother came roaring across the world to get her. It's not that she didn't love her brother but he could be so meddling sometimes. "Do you think she'll help us?" Sakura asked as her hands dropped back to her sides, almost scared of what she would do if Yelan didn't agree to help her.

"We won't know until we try, Miss Sakura," Rika said as she took Sakura's hands and gave them a tight squeeze. "I'm sure she won't be able to resist helping you, after all."

Sakura blinked incomprehensibly at Rika. "What do you mean?" she asked confused. Rika hid a small laugh behind her hand and even Terada gave a small chuckle. Sakura quickly looked back and forth between them making a small exclamation of deep confusion.

But neither answered her before the large doors opened again and two men stepped out. One was the man who had been standing guard at the doors before while the other was a nice looking older gentleman. Sakura's first thought when she saw him was that he looked like a butler because he was dressed in a black suit with spectacles over his eyes.

"Miss Kinomoto?" the grey-haired man asked.

"Yes?" Sakura answered as she stepped closer to him a little nervously.

The gentleman gave her a smile and a small bow as he said, "I am Wang Wei, Lady Yelan's retainer. I am here to escort you to see her, though I'm afraid your companions will have to remain here." His look turned apologetic at those final words.

Sakura shot a panicked look over to Rika and Terada, both who looked worried at this news. "Maybe you shouldn't go, Miss Kinomoto," Terada said. "Your aunt would never forgive me if something happened to you."

She wasn't exactly sure whether it was a good idea or not—perhaps it would be as dangerous as Sonomi had warned—but Sakura knew that this might be her only chance to find her father and she most certainly could not let this chance pass by. She did not want to imagine her mother's sorrowful face if she came back without him. She gripped onto that determination and with a tone that brokered no arguments she said, "No. I will be fine."

Rika nodded a little uncertainly. "We will wait here for you, Miss Sakura."

Sakura offered a smile and said, "I'll be back before you know it!" She waved to them as she followed Wei inside. As soon as she was passed the threshold the huge doors were pulled shut with a resounding slam. Sakura pressed her lips together and turned to get a look at what she couldn't see over the outside walls.

It was huge—that was what Sakura thought of the Li estate. Sakura had always thought that her grandfather's manor had a large estate, but it was rather small when compared to the Li estate—like comparing a pond to a lake. Sakura couldn't help but look around in wonder at the stunning gardens that she was walking through. Flowers of all colors lined the pathway. As they approached the house, she saw a pond with a small waterfall almost hidden within a copse of trees. "It's so beautiful," Sakura said breathlessly. She breathed in deeply to take in the wonderful smells around her.

"Thank you, Miss Kinomoto," Wei said gently. "Lady Yelan would be happy to hear that. She takes great pride in her gardens."

Sakura blushed at the compliment and then studied the house which, like the gardens, had that traditional feel. Somehow, she was glad to find it like that—a big contemporary mansion would have ruined the peaceful and tranquil mood of the place. Wei led her up the veranda and into the inner courtyard. While it was not as elaborate as the gardens outside the house, it was still very beautiful. Sakura barely had time to study the small enclosure before Wei slid open one of the doors and bowed her into the room. Sakura stepped cautiously inside and looked around curiously.

Sakura's first impression of Yelan Li—at least the woman sitting at the table in the center of the room she assumed was Yelan—was that she was an intimidating yet very elegant woman, but she also felt an inexplicable connection to her. She wore more traditional clothes—a long-sleeved, very complex hanfu complete with a golden headdress—but they fit her very well. Two other women—both wearing cheongsams which were still traditional clothing, but a little more modern that a complete hanfu—were in the room as well. The one standing by the window with a frown upon her face looked to be about Sakura's age, and she had long black hair just like Yelan but her eyes were red rather than Yelan's piercing amber. She looked as if she was angry and unhappy to just be in the room.

The other woman, who was seated at Yelan's side at the table, was older than Sakura, but not quite as old as Yelan—probably near thirty. Unlike the other two women, her hair was a chestnut brown and her eyes were a smoky grey. In a strict contrast to the other women, she greeted Sakura with a wide welcoming smile and spoke softly, "Oh Mother, she's adorable." The woman by the window glanced at the one who had spoken with her frown deepening even further.

Yelan gave no indication that she had heard the comment at all and the room was quiet for a few moments until she unexpectedly said, "You look a great deal like Nadeshiko."

"You know my mother?" Sakura asked surprised, having not expected that at all. Tomoyo had told her that the Amamiya Family had been on almost friendly terms with the Li Dynasty, but Sakura didn't know that Yelan had actually met her mother—especially since her mother had been gone with her father over a decade before her son had died.

"I met her…before," Yelan said with the impression that she was going to say more, but she did not. "Please, sit down," she instructed instead. Sakura nervously sat in the chair Yelan had indicated, tapping her toes on the ground once she was in it, but managing to stop her fingers from playing on her knees. "I am Yelan Li," she continued, introducing herself. She lifted a hand to indicate the woman seated beside her and said, "This is my daughter, Feimei, and my niece, Meilin," she finished, waving to the woman by the window.

"It's nice to meet you," Sakura said with a wide smile, finding herself a little more relaxed as none of the three women—except perhaps the one by the window—seemed ready to attack her at any moment. "I'm Sakura Kinomoto."

"Why have you come here, Miss Kinomoto?" Yelan asked frankly.

Sakura was flustered for a moment by her direct tone but recovered quickly as she remembered why she was here. "My father disappeared in England…we think the Reed Clan might have kidnapped him," Sakura said. "My grandfather told me that you have a Clow that could help me find him. I came to ask for your help."

Yelan was quiet for almost a full minute as Sakura squirmed in her seat under her unwavering and unrelenting gaze. Then, abruptly she stood up and walked around the table towards Sakura. Yelan bent over in front of her and took Sakura's chin gently in her hand and studied her with an expression Sakura could not read at all. After another minute had passed, Meilin burst out, "Auntie, you can't seriously—" but Yelan cut her off with a wave of her hand and Meilin obediently fell silent again.

Finally, Yelan let Sakura go, but still held her gaze as she said, "Normally, I would not think of assisting you. However, I sense something about you…" She paused a moment to stand up before she continued, "I will…consider it."

Sakura jumped to her feet as a wealth of excitement bubbled up through her as it had been more than what she could have hoped for after all the things that Sonomi had said. Unthinkingly, she reached out and grasped Yelan's hand in both of her own and said elatedly, "Really? You will?" A moment later, she said, "I'm so sorry," as she realized what she did and flung her hands back as she stepped away, nearly falling over the chair behind her that she had forgotten was still there.

Yelan gave her a smile, and said, "That's quite all right." But Sakura flushed in embarrassment as she could hear Feimei's laughter from where she sat.

"Mother, I like this one," Feimei said as she rested her head in her hand. Meilin gave a rather loud humph from her corner of the room and turned away with her arms folded across her chest.

"Indeed," Yelan said quietly and a calculating look entered her eyes as she stared at Sakura for another moment. She turned away from Sakura—who let out a loud breath that she hadn't even realized that she had been holding causing Feimei to erupt into another fit of laughter—and returned to her seat at the table. Yelan glanced at her daughter as Sakura slid back into her seat. Feimei covered her mouth with one hand as she quieted. Yelan looked at Sakura again and said, "You may remain here while I make my final decision, but your companions will have to return to the Amamiya Family. I have never liked for those not of my own family to stay in my home, though I feel inclined to make an exception in your case. You will assure them that you will come to no harm while you are under my care."

Sakura didn't quite know what to make of that, but she figured that if that was what it would take for Yelan to help her, she would be willing to agree to whatever terms the woman presented between her. "All right," Sakura said nodding emphatically.

Yelan tilted her head slightly to the side and stared at Sakura for another moment before she continued to speak. "You are free to roam the grounds as you wish, though I will assign someone to look after you. Feimei will show you to your room and your companions will be brought in so that you may say farewell to them." She turned away and looked at Meilin. "Stay. I wish to speak with you."

Meilin nodded but then glared at Sakura, who felt a rush of dismay mixed with confusion. When Feimei got up from her seat, Sakura realized that she had been dismissed and hurriedly stood up as well and bowed to Yelan. "Thank you," she said blustery.

Feimei walked over to Sakura as Yelan gave her a small nod. "Come with me, Sakura," Feimei said as she gave her a wide smile. "You don't mind that I call you that, right?" she added as Sakura followed her out of the room and back onto the veranda.

"No," Sakura said hastily as she got a better look at the inner courtyard garden which was fantastic. They walked back through another door, this time it lead to a hallway, which Feimei explained as they walked led to the guest wing of the house. Lined along the hallway were extravagant paintings and tables that held vases of stunning floral arrangements and occasionally what Sakura could only imagine were priceless artifacts.

Feimei kept up a single-sided conversation about nothing in particular as they walked for nearly a minute before she reached a door and said, "Here we are!" Feimei opened the door and Sakura walked in where her jaw dropped with incredulous disbelief. The room was enormous—it must have been twice as large as her bedroom at her grandfather's and probably a good ten times larger than her accommodations at college. A large dark wood canopy bed with crimson red sheets was the main focal point of the room, but in addition to the other normal bedroom set furniture, there was also a sofa set and a small table with two chairs.

Seemingly completely oblivious to Sakura's reaction, Feimei continued to talk. "I tell you, it's so nice to have another girl around, for as little time as it will be. All Meilin ever cares about is training and my sisters are all gone on business with their husbands most of the time. Do you have any siblings, Sakura?"

Sakura jumped at being addressed so suddenly. "Just my older brother," Sakura answered quickly trying to focus on the woman before her rather than this room that was so very overwhelming. Sakura had grown up in very modest circumstances—they hadn't been poor, but her family had been just average. She had gotten used to the fact that her grandfather and aunt were wealthy, but this seemed to be on a whole higher elitist level.

Feimei grinned as she sank into the chaise chair by the sofa. "I bet he's adorable, just like you," she said as she beckoned Sakura over. Sakura, a little confused on how this woman could be so vastly different from her mother, took the adjacent seat on the sofa as Feimei continued to talk. "I have three older sisters, you see. There's Shiefa, who's the oldest, then the twins, Fanren and Fuutie, and then little ole me. We're all very close in age—less than a year apart between each of us—except Syaoran whose—" She suddenly cut off with a stricken look on her face.

It took her another second to make the connection, but Sakura realized that Syaoran must have been the name of the boy that Tomoyo told her about. Her natural curiosity kicked in and before she could stop herself, she started to ask the question, "How did he—" But she cut off there with a gasp as she covered her mouth with her hands. "I'm sorry," she added quickly, horror-struck. "I shouldn't have asked."

"It's all right," Feimei said with a gentle sorrowful smile. "It's true that we don't really talk about it, especially Mother, but well…" She trailed off as she trailed her hand across the fabric of the chair, turning her gaze away from Sakura. "I was eleven when it happened," Feimei said quietly.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly, wondering if Feimei was going to tell her what happened to Syaoran—somehow she felt a strange desire to know what had happened to that small boy. Tomoyo had told her before that the family had been very quiet about what happened to him, so Tomoyo had never heard exactly how he had died.

But Feimei didn't say anything more after a few seconds passed. Instead, she got to her feet and indicated a door on the other side of the room—one different from the one they had entered from the hallway. "That door leads to the bathroom—it should already have everything that you need. That wall there slides over and leads out to the gardens on that side," she continued as she pointed at the wall opposite of entrance. She gave Sakura a small smile as she said, "If you do need anything else, there's a bell pull beside the bed or there should be one of the servants stationed outside your room."

"Thank you so much, Miss Li," Sakura said with a wide smile as she got to her feet. Then she frowned in thought as she remembered something. "Your mother said there would be someone looking after me while I'm here. Do you know who that is?" she asked.

Before Feimei could answer that a voice came from behind her. "Miss Sakura."

Sakura looked at the doorway where Rika and Terada were standing. Feimei bowed herself out, to leave Sakura alone in the room with her companions who walked further into the room as Feimei left. Sakura looked at the two of them and sighed slightly she walked over to them and said, "Mrs. Li hasn't decided if she is going to help me. She's invited me to stay here while she makes her decision, but she wants only me to stay."

Rika took Sakura's hands into her own and said worriedly, "But we can't leave you here alone, Miss Sakura."

Sakura shook her head firmly as she said, "Rika, you and Terada should go ahead back to Grandfather's house. Mrs. Li assured me that I wouldn't come to any harm in her care and someone has to go and tell my mother and grandfather what is going on." Sakura tried not to lead on how much staying here in this grandiose house by herself (well, at least without anyone she knew) was kind of daunting, but if she had to do it to save her father, she was willing to try.

"Are you sure?" Terada asked her.

"Yes. I'll be all right here and I have my Clows to protect me." She gave them her biggest reassuring smile. Rika and Terada glanced at each other looking worried.

Rika turned back to Sakura and gave a small bow. "All right, Miss Sakura," Rika said. "We will go tell Mr. Amamiya what you have told us." Sakura smiled at her, thankful that Rika understood. Rika snaked her hand into Terada's and began to pull him away. "Come along, Yoshiyuki. Good-bye, Miss Sakura." Terada echoed Rika's farewell before the both of them walked away.

Sakura gave them a farewell wave, but let her hand drop once they were out of sight. She walked over to the window and just looked out of the window into the gardens beyond. "It will definitely be all right," she whispered to herself. She looked back at the vast empty room pouting slightly as she said, "I even wish Toya were here." She wandered over to the canopy bed and fell back onto it with her arms spread wide. She hoped that Mrs. Li would make her decision soon.

* * *

><p>As the sunlight trickled through the window over her face the next morning, Sakura rolled over and buried herself under her covers to escape it. She had never learned the art of waking up and was quite sure it was something she would never master. She froze however and her eyes snapped open as she heard the door open and someone moving about the room. Irrationally, her first thought was that a ghost had come into her room and she hoped by just ignoring it that it would go away. But then she remembered that it was morning and ghosts don't typically come out in the daytime. She hoped.<p>

Pulling up her courage, she poked her head out from under her covers to see a young lady fixing a tray on the table. Sakura breathed a huge sigh of relief as she pulled back the covers and greeted the other girl, who replied with a mild greeting of her own. Just as she was climbing out of the bed and padding across the floor to the table there was a knock at the door, which the maid went over to answer as Sakura sat down to eat breakfast that looked completely delicious. Just as she was taking her first bite of food, she looked up to see Wei walk into the room, holding a wrapped package in his arms. He bowed to her and said, "Good morning, Miss Kinomoto."

Sakura swallowed a mouthful of rice porridge, coughing slightly in her haste as she nearly sputtered, "Good morning, Wei."

Wei set the package down on the sofa with very precise movements as he said, "Lady Yelan was concerned that you would not have suitably attire for our climate, as it is quite a bit warmer here than what you are used to at this time of the year, so she asked me to prepare something for you. I think you will find it the right size, but do let me know if it is not."

Sakura blinked at him for a few moments completely dumbfounded. Then she jumped to her feet and said with a genuine smile, "Thank you so much."

Wei returned the smile with a mild one of his own. "Please finish your breakfast, Miss Kinomoto," he said. "Feel free to explore once you are finished."

Sakura cocked her head to the side as she tapped her chin in thought. "Wasn't there supposed to be someone following me around?" she asked.

Wei gave her a more mysterious smile as he said, "Have a good day, Miss Kinomoto." He gave another bow and left the room.

Sakura flopped back down onto the chair and put some more porridge on the spoon. She slipped it into her mouth and left the spoon there as she thought through her confusion. Perhaps Yelan had decided that she didn't need to be followed anymore. Or maybe she just didn't want Sakura to know who was following her. Sakura shrugged and dug back into the breakfast as she decided not to worry about it. She did look around rather forlornly—it was kind of lonely to eat all alone. She even sort of missed her brother calling her a monster—on second thought, though, perhaps not as she felt a rush of anger flash through her as she recalled all those times he had done so…it was so completely unfair that he was so much taller than her. Once she finished, she frowned at the dishes, wondering what she was supposed to do with them. Huffing slightly, she figured that servants were probably expected to take care of them, just like at her grandfather's house.

So she finally turned her attention to the package that Wei had left for her as she crossed the room to the sofa. She unwrapped in and examined the clothes inside, breathing out slightly in awe. She ran her fingers across the fabric, nearly breathless that she had just been given such a gift. She raced into the bathroom to change and get ready for the day, reappearing a while later and walking over to the ornate full-length mirror in one corner of the room to get the full look.

She turned back and forth in front of the mirror almost giggling as she thought about what Tomoyo's reaction would have been if she could see Sakura in these clothes. It was, after all, sort of Tomoyo's hobby to dress Sakura up in extravagant (and sometimes just strange) clothes—something Sakura had more or less just learned to accept since Tomoyo had been doing it practically since they met. The perfectly fitting outfit Sakura had on now was a green tunic like shirt with capped sleeves and a gold clasp at the high neck. On the bottom right hand corner were some golden embroidered flowers. The lightweight pants were golden yellow and went just past her knees. The shoes were the same green as the tunic and slipper-like both with the same golden clasp that was at her neck. Tomoyo went nearly gaga over Sakura in any type of Japanese traditional clothing—like kimonos or yukatas—and she would probably die to see Sakura in these Chinese clothes.

Sakura smiled brightly, figuring this was probably a rather good beginning of the day. She went over to where Feimei had told her the wall slid open to the gardens and opened it, breathing in deeply the wonderful smells of the garden. She closed the door behind herself and stepped down onto the stone path that led further into the garden. Trying to stay on the stones so that she wouldn't ruin her shoes, she followed the path that soon led her into a small thicket of trees, but opened up after about a minute or so into a wide, open area. Slightly downhill from her was an area surrounded by a low stone wall with a completely square covered ground in the center. Two people were on it—fighting from what Sakura could tell.

Sakura ran down the hill to the wall, leaning on it with her elbows as she finally recognized Meilin as one of the women fighting. Suddenly, she remembered that Feimei had told her that Meilin trained a lot and figured that this was what she had meant. Sakura looked at the other woman and let out a breath of shock. It had to be a Clow as Sakura couldn't think of anyone else in the world that would have pale blue skin and hair. She was dressed in a blue outfit with a red diamond at the center of it and thigh high boots. But Sakura had never seen a Clow so big—usually they were no bigger than a foot tall—but this Clow was just as big as a grown person. Meilin and the Clow were exchanging blows rapidly, mesmerizing Sakura—it was almost like watching a really complicated dance. Sakura climbed up onto the wall to sit and watch them.

Finally, Meilin blocked one of the Clow's punches and then wheeled her foot around to deliver a blow to the Clow's stomach that sent her flying. "Amazing!" Sakura cried out without thinking. She clapped her hands to her mouth as Meilin started and whirled her head around to look at Sakura. An instant later, the Clow disappeared and Meilin strode over to stand a few feet from where Sakura was sitting.

Meilin stared at Sakura with her hands on her hips and narrowed distrustful eyes. "What are you doing here?" she asked scathingly as she gave Sakura a good once over glance.

Sakura gave her a shrug as she stared down at her hands where she pushed her two pointer fingers together as she said sheepishly, "I was just exploring and saw you here." She chanced a glance at Meilin, who said nothing in response to Sakura. Delighted that Meilin wasn't about to yell at her, she looked up fully and let a bright smile cross her lips as she continued, "You were amazing! How long have you been doing that?"

"My whole life," Meilin answered haughtily turning her head away from Sakura and crossing her arms in front of her chest. A red flush crossed her cheeks causing Sakura to frown in concern.

"Are you alright?" she asked, thinking that perhaps Meilin was suffering under the heat.

Meilin looked back at her with a puzzled brow. "Yes, why?" she asked briskly.

"You're face was all red," Sakura said with a small pout. "I was worried that you were doing too much under this sun."

Meilin's face flushed completely red and anger flashed in her eyes as she snapped, "I'm fine!"

Sakura cringed slightly and glanced about for a change of topic, finally remembering the other woman that was on the area. "Was that your Clow out there with you?" she asked.

Meilin leaned against the wall, leaving a few feet between herself and Sakura. "Yeah, that was **Fight**," she answered with her head down as she dug her toes into the ground a little. "I used to just draw on her powers to enhance my training, but now she's the only one that can keep up with me so she's my sparring partner." Meilin let out a small mirthless laugh as she looked back across the empty expanse.

Sakura hummed in confusion. She swung her legs, slightly bumping her heels gently on the wall. "I bet **Fight** is really happy to be so useful to you. I hardly ever get to use my Clows, so sometimes I wonder if they're happy with me."

Sakura could have sworn she saw a small smile on the corner of Meilin's lips, but it was gone as Meilin turned to look at her. "That green really matches your eyes," Meilin said suddenly, studying Sakura with a much gentler gaze than anything she had used before.

"Thank you," Sakura said happy that Meilin wasn't looking as hostile as she usually was.

There was a short quiet pause, but then Meilin said, "That outfit was made for me."

Sakura let out a cry of dismay and surprise and then nearly fell off the wall as she lost her balance. She managed to grip on tightly and Meilin saved her from completely falling over as she grabbed Sakura's arm to steady her. "Are you trying to kill yourself?" Meilin demanded sharply.

"I'm sorry," Sakura breathed, settling a hand over her beating heart as Meilin let her go another second later. There was another small pause before Sakura continued, "I didn't know," she said quickly a little flustered. "Mr. Wei just brought it to me."

Meilin waved a hand at Sakura and shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "Whatever," she said. "It doesn't matter. I've never worn it. You can keep it—it looks like Wei fixed it so that it fits you now instead of me, anyway."

Sakura slid her hands down the smooth fabric. "But why haven't you worn it?" she asked as she fingered the golden embroidery. "It's so pretty."

Meilin leaned against the wall again with one foot out. There was a sad distant look in her eyes as she said flatly, "I despise the color green and refuse to wear it."

"Why?" Sakura asked again genuinely confused. She had never heard someone express such an avid and unyielding hatred for something as mundane as a color before.

Meilin let out a sad and long-suffering sigh before she said, "Because green was…" She trailed off as her expression turned into a sneering frown as she stood back up. She flipped her hair over one shoulder and said dismissively, "Never mind."

As she began to walk away, Sakura said loudly and cheerfully, "Thank you, Meilin." She gasped as she realized suddenly that she had forgotten to address Meilin as Miss Li and had used her given name. But it had just slipped out so easily—just like it had before a long time ago with Tomoyo.

Meilin stopped for a moment. Her head turned to the side as she said in a voice Sakura could barely hear, "I hope you find you father…Sakura." She didn't look back after that, but Sakura couldn't help but smile after her—perhaps she had made a friend here after all. As Meilin was nearly out of sight, Sakura closed her eyes and leaned slightly back, lifting her face to feel the sunlight bask its light and warmth down on her.

* * *

><p>Yelan dismissed the last servant that had given their report to her—leaving herself alone with Wei—and lifted her cup to drink her tea, thinking about all she had heard. She'd given them all instructions to have Sakura in sight of at least one of them at all times and she had just listened to hear what they all had to say about the girl—and absolutely none of it was negative in the least. In fact, much of the reports had been amazingly and some even extraordinarily positive.<p>

"I believe she's a rather special girl myself, Lady Yelan," Wei said voicing a rare opinion.

"Anyone who can get Meilin to talk to them cordially for more than a few minutes has to be," Yelan added quietly. That had probably been the most puzzling report. Meilin didn't really like talking to people outside of the family—at least she didn't like playing nice with strangers. But quite a few had insisted that they had seen Meilin and Sakura talking with each other—without Meilin once trying to punch the other girl. It hadn't started immediately after the incident—not until nearly her teens—but Yelan was well aware of why Meilin was the way she was. After all, truly it was the same for herself.

"What?" she asked Wei as she could have sworn she heard him say something very quietly—something that she could barely hear. The last few words had sounded like "good for him" but she couldn't be absolutely sure.

"I'm sorry, Lady Yelan," he said as he refilled her tea cup. "It was of no importance."

Yelan pressed her lips together and hummed slightly as she narrowed her eyes at her long-time retainer—someone who had become something far more than just servant or butler. Deep inside her, Yelan counted Wei nearly alongside her own family—the closest of friends. Deciding to trust him and let it go, she said nothing more, but blew gently on her tea before taking another sip.

"Do you think I should help her, Wei?" Yelan asked.

"I believe that whatever you feel you should do is the right thing, Lady Yelan," Wei said gently.

She should have expected him to say something like that. "I want your opinion, Wei," Yelan told him firmly as she set her cup down. "I can order you to give it to me."

He was quiet for a moment as he stared away from her. Slowly, he turned to look at her and said, "I think that if anyone was deserving of your help, Lady Yelan, it would be this girl."

Yelan nodded slowly as she took in those words. She had been thinking nearly the same thing. She didn't know why she felt so drawn to help her or why she had felt that connection to the young Sakura Kinomoto, but somehow she couldn't help but feel that it would be a terrible mistake for her not to help her. "Very well," Yelan whispered, not absolutely sure who it was she was saying it to.

* * *

><p>Sakura flopped onto the chaise that evening after dinner, wondering when Yelan would make her decision and what she should do now. She didn't want to go outside in the dark (even though it wasn't really all that dark yet as the sun was still setting)—not only because how completely terrifying all the shadows that may or may not be ghosts were, but because while she had inherited her father's athleticism, she had also somehow gotten some of her mother's clumsiness at the same time.<p>

There was a knock on the door and Sakura went over to answer it, smiling when she saw that it was Feimei on the other side. "Mind if I come in?" Feimei asked.

"Of course not," Sakura said as she stepped aside for Feimei to walk in. Sakura followed her over to the sitting area, where Feimei sat down on the sofa and Sakura took a seat on the chaise.

"How was your day?" Feimei asked her cordially.

"Really great," Sakura said happily. "What about you?"

Before anymore could be said, there was an authoritative knock on the door before it opened abruptly and Yelan walked through. "Mother," Feimei said in surprise.

"Good evening, Feimei, Miss Kinomoto," Yelan said. She pierced Sakura with her gaze and then sat down on the sofa next to Feimei. She was quiet for a minute as she continued to study Sakura, and neither Feimei nor Sakura said anything as they just waited on Yelan. "I have decided to give you my assistance," Yelan said finally.

Sakura jumped up to her feet excitedly and exclaimed, "You have? I mean, thank you!" she corrected herself hurriedly.

A small smile played on Yelan's lips. "You are a very interesting young lady, Sakura Kinomoto," she said mysteriously. She got to her feet and continued to say, "I will return once you are ready to go to sleep, and use **Dream** on you. It is best used at that time so that you will not feel exceptionally tired tomorrow." She gave Sakura another unfathomable gaze before she hummed softly and said, "Good evening. Don't keep her up too long, Feimei." She left just as gracefully and poised as she had come, leaving Sakura to stare at her in disbelief.

Feimei got to her feet as well and grabbed Sakura's hands. "This is great, Sakura," she said. "You will be able to find out where your father is."

Sakura smiled. "I know!" But then she frowned again as she thought aloud, "I wonder what changed her mind. I haven't seen or spoken to her all day."

Feimei laughed. "If I know Mother, she's probably had all the servants watching out for you," she said as she again took her seat on the sofa. "What did you do today?"

Sakura sat back down on the chaise next to her and began counting off the things with her fingers as she said, "Well, I went out to the gardens, talked with Meilin…"

"Wait, you talked with Meilin?" Feimei interrupted with a clearly surprised tone.

Sakura nodded confused. "Sure," she said. "I think we might actually become friends one day!" she added with excitement. She faltered slightly as Feimei was looking at her with a puzzled look in her eyes. "What is it?" she asked.

Feimei gave her a soft smile and said, "Oh, I just think I know why Mother decided to help you." She crossed her legs and rested her clasp hands over them as she leaned forward. "Now, what did you talk to Meilin about?"

"I asked about her Clow **Fight** and she told me how she practices fighting with it," Sakura recounted eagerly. "She told me about this outfit, and, hey," she stopped for a moment as a thought occurred to her. "Meilin didn't seem to want to answer, but maybe…do you know why Meilin doesn't like green?" Feimei's expression turned strangely blank for a moment, which made Sakura gulp uncomfortably. "If you'd rather not…"

"No, it's fine," Feimei said quickly and quietly. "I don't really mind telling you. Green was my brother's favorite color," she answered softly after a mild pause. "He and Meilin were the same age and they used to…well, I guess you could call it 'playing'…anyway they were together a lot before he…you know. She was devastated after it happened."

"Oh," Sakura said quietly unsure of what she could say to that. She tried to think of something else to say, but Feimei started to talk before she could come up with anything.

"I think I mentioned it before a bit, but we were all a lot older than him—he was only four and that was a good seven years younger than me," she said suddenly and Sakura wondered if she was going to get her answer to the question she had voiced without thinking the night before—the answer to how Syaoran had died seventeen years ago. "We still don't really know what happened," she continued as she rested her cheek against the palm of her hand. "I think that's why Mother's never gotten over it. You see, **Dream** had given her a warning the night before that one of us was in danger, but she didn't figure it out until it was too late. I had never heard Mother scream like that before…" She trailed off softly as a shudder ran through her body.

Sakura sat listening, mystified at the story that Feimei was telling her. "What was it that…I mean, how did he…" Sakura tried to ask the question, unsure if she should be asking at all, but something inside her somehow just had to know.

Feimei seemed to understand as she gave Sakura a haunting grimace and said, "We think it had to be a Clow that did it, but there aren't any Clows that can kill without leaving a mark, because there wasn't a single one on him. There's just no reason he should have died," she finished quietly.

"I'm sorry," Sakura said quietly, horrified at what had happened to this family and that small boy—she never could have imagined what it felt like to hear about it, but it somehow affected her right down to her very core. She almost felt that she should have done something to prevent it—even though she herself had only been four as well at the time. It struck her then that they were the same age—she wondered if they would have become friends if he had not died. She might have met him, coming here to look for her father. Or maybe they would have known each other for a long time before that as it had been his death that stopped Yelan from staying in contact with the Amamiya Family—her family.

"It was a long time ago," Feimei replied just as quietly. But there was a distant longing in her tone that made Sakura think that Feimei didn't quite think it was very long ago at all.

Sakura scrambled in her mind for a more bright and cheerful conversation topic, but the first thing that came to her mind—which just came spilling right out of her mouth—was the question, "What was he like?" She nearly slapped her own forehead because she had not wanted to bring up the topic of Feimei's little brother again.

But to her utter surprise, Feimei smiled brilliantly and laughed. "He was so cute and adorable," she said fondly. "Really quiet, though—he hardly ever spoke unless he had to. He was incredibly serious, too, but that was probably why he was able to control his Clows even though he was so young. And he tried so very hard to be mean," she finished with a quiet laugh.

Sakura blinked in surprise. "What?" she asked, not sure why Feimei remembered her brother's meanness with such fondness.

"Oh yes," Feimei said with a nod and a smile still on her face. "It was quite fun to watch. Mother's always been strict and stern—never mean, mind you—but you can imagine how that looks to a little kid. He tried so hard to be like her—mostly towards Meilin who was just barely younger than him—but he had too much of a gentle heart. He'd spend hours searching for some lost toy or treasure for her—without a word. Meilin adored him. She cried for months."

Sakura smiled. "I wish I could have met him," she said, almost without knowing where the thought came from.

Feimei cocked her head with a puzzled smile. "Somehow, so do I," she said quietly and with something that sounded a bit like wonder. There was an expectant silence between them as Sakura couldn't find anything to say to that. Feimei suddenly slapped her hands on her thighs and she stood up. "Well, I better let you get ready for bed so that Mother can come back and use her Clow."

Sakura raised herself to her feet and said genuinely, "Thank you, Feimei."

Feimei returned the smile and said, "You're quite welcome, Sakura." And then she slipped out of the room. Sakura walked over to the wall and slid it open. The sun was now completely down on the horizon, and it was nearly time for the moon to rise. She sighed as she looked out onto the garden—in a couple of hours, Yelan would return to her room and Sakura would be able to find out what happened to her father. She looked up at the sky, where a few early stars could be seen peeking out through the sky. She hoped he was okay, wherever he was.

"I'm coming, Dad," she whispered out into the night. "I'll bring him back, Mom." She giggled softly and thought she might as well go the whole way and said, "Don't get into too much trouble, Toya!" With a smile on her face, she slide the wall shut and turned back into the room to prepare for bed.

* * *

><p>Once it was truly nighttime outside and Sakura had prepared for bed, Yelan returned to her room. Sakura was waiting for her, seated in the chaise of the room, gripping her pajama pants nervously in her hands. "What do I do?" Sakura asked the tall woman.<p>

"It will just be like falling asleep," Yelan answered with a small reassuring smile. As Sakura nodded and climbed into the giant bed, pulling the sheets over her, Yelan's Clow appeared beside her. It looked like a woman who had long white hair and was wearing flowing robes. A headdress was placed over her head and it came down and covered her eyes. "**Dream**," Yelan said quietly. **Dream** morphed into a blue butterfly and flew over to Sakura, landing on her head.

It was instantaneous. One moment Sakura was lying in her bed; the next she was standing in a black abyss. Sakura looked around wondering what this could possibly mean. Out of the darkness, a grassy field appeared around her. A few feet away, there rose out of the ground a clump of tall grass—but there was something different about it. Because her mother had been born with **Flower** and her grandfather with **Wood**, Sakura knew a lot about plants. And she was pretty sure that these were called reeds.

_Like the Reed Clan._

She ran over to the clump of reeds, knowing she would find the answer she was looking for. When she reached it, she pushed aside the grass to enter the center of the reeds and found something unexpected. A large dog—or perhaps it was a wolf—was lying in the center, looking as dejected as a dog could, though it's eyes were closed and it looked like it was sleeping. A large iron shackle was hooked around the dog's neck linked with a tight chain that ran directly into the ground, giving the appearance that it would not be able to move an inch, even if it wanted to.

Sakura was starting to wonder what her answer could be with this dog when another object caught her eye. In front of the dog, there was a glass ball. She kneeled down and reached forward, eyeing the dog warily, but there was no reaction from it as she picked up the orb.

A desert storm spun inside it. "Dad?" Sakura whispered as she gazed into it. Her father's Clow was **Sand**, after all, so perhaps this is what she needed to know. Still holding the orb in one hand, she looked down at the dog again. She reached out her free hand and laid it gently on the dog's head. Almost instantly, the orb in her other hand shattered, falling to dust on her hand, but the sand that was inside continued to swirl above her palm. The sand lifted into the air above her and she stood with it. It flew out of the clump of reeds and off into a meadow full of flowers beyond.

A low rumbling caught her hearing, and she looked back at the dog—no, the wolf, she amended herself with sudden certainty. The wolf's eyes opened and she caught a flash of the color amber before everything was plunged into complete darkness again.

* * *

><p>Sakura opened her eyes and sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She had never been much of a morning person. The morning light streamed through the curtains over the window. As she pulled the sheets from over her, a small butterfly flew into her vision. <strong>Dream<strong> turned back into a woman before disappearing. Sakura stood up still somewhat in a daze over her dream, walked over to the window, and threw open the curtains to let the light in more.

"Good morning, Miss Kinomoto."

Sakura jumped about five feet into the air, completely startled, and turned around to find Yelan walking into the room. Behind her, Wei followed carrying a tray with cups, a teapot, and a plate of rolls. "Good morning, Mrs. Li," Sakura answered as she placed a hand over her rushing heart.

Yelan took a seat at the small table. Wei set the tray down and began pouring tea into the cups. "Thank you, Wei," Yelan said as he finished. Wei bowed and walked to stand by the doorway. Yelan looked at Sakura and said, "Please come sit."

Sakura sat in the seat opposite Yelan and sipped her tea. She smiled and said, "It's delicious. Thank you!"

Yelan gave her a small smile before she said, "Tell me about your dream." Sakura told her everything that she had seen and then happily munched on one of the absolutely amazing honey rolls from the plate. Yelan was silent for a while after Sakura finished before she finally said, "I believe you are correct. The Reed Clan most certainly has your father. Furthermore, I believe by going to them your father will be released…as you saw when you picked up the glass orb of sand."

"But what about the wolf?" Sakura asked.

It took another few long moments before Yelan answered. "Perhaps it represents someone you will meet in the Clan," she said quietly. "One you are meant to help or who will help you."

Sakura nodded, but then asked, "Do you know where I can find the Reed Clan?"

Yelan was quiet again before she said, "I do."


	4. Imprisoned Flower

"For the record, I think this is a stupid idea, and I think you're dumb to even consider it. I am _only_ going with you because Auntie asked me to," Meilin finally said after all of Sakura's attempts (for the past twenty-four hours) to start a conversation with her failed utterly as Meilin just glared at her over the top of her magazine. "So please, stop trying to talk to me. I have absolutely no desire to be your friend." With that, Meilin buried herself once again in her magazine.

"Oh," Sakura said dejectedly. She had thought that they had made some rather good progress when they had talked together the other day after Meilin's training. Sakura had sort of come to view Meilin as a friend even though they hadn't known each other for very long. It was a little discouraging to hear that she did not feel the same way. Determined not to give up, Sakura put on her best smile and said, "Thank you for coming with me, Meilin." Meilin rolled her eyes but didn't answer. But Meilin's mentioning of Yelan brought back Sakura's memories of what had happened after they had talked about her dream.

_"Do you know where I can find the Reed Clan?"_

_"I do."_

_Sakura stood up abruptly with her hands pressed to the table in her excitement. "Please tell me!"_

"_I do not believe that would be wise, Miss Kinomoto. The Reed Clan may not necessarily be evil per se, but they are barely above criminals in my eyes."_

"_But you said my father would be released if I went there."_

"_I still believe that would be so, but at what cost?"_

"_If someone you loved needed you, wouldn't you do anything to help them, no matter what the cost?"_

_A heavy, oppressive silence fell over them—a sudden thick tension that took Sakura quite a few long seconds to figure out. Finally, she realized what she had said and who she had said it to (she was certainly putting her foot in her mouth a lot lately). Before she could apologize, Yelan spoke quietly, "Yes, I believe I would."_

Yelan had sent Wei off for Meilin immediately while she spoke to Sakura of more trivial things, seemingly unconcerned about what Sakura had said. When Meilin arrived, Yelan told her that she was to take Sakura to the Reed Clan. Meilin had protested at first by agreed in the end. The plane ride over to England had been long and uncomfortable as Meilin had answered Sakura's every attempt at conversation with a glare and a grunt, until she had finally had her say just a few moments before as they were in the car driving towards the manor estate where the Reed Clan lived.

A few minutes later, their cab stopped in front of sturdy wrought iron gate, and Sakura and Meilin got out of the cab—Meilin paused just long enough to tell the driver to wait. Just beyond the gate, a tall dark Victorian mansion could be seen at the end of a driveway that was lined with red flowers and ended in a circle with a black fountain in the center of it. There was a guard house to one side of the gate—the door to it opened and a burly looking man walked out and approached them. He stared at them and Sakura realized after a moment that he was expecting them to speak first. "Oh, um, hi," she said uneasily. "I'm Sakura Kinomoto and this is Mei—" but she stopped there as Meilin let out a loud cough. She looked at Meilin who was shaking her head and remembered with a jolt that the Li Dynasty and Reed Clan were enemies. She turned back to the guard who was looking at them with suspicion clear in his eyes. Sakura gave a nervous laugh and said, "We're here to see the leader of the Reed Clan."

The guard grunted and turned his back on them and walked back into the little house. Sakura glanced warily at Meilin who exclaimed, "What a jerk!"

"Do you think that means we can't go in?" Sakura asked confused, but then the gates began to swing open.

Meilin gave a loud humph. "I guess that means you're allowed in."

"I guess," Sakura said quietly and apprehensively. She started to walk in, but noticed after a few moments that Meilin wasn't following. She looked around and found Meilin standing in the same spot, unmoving. "Aren't you coming?" Sakura asked.

Slowly, Meilin shook her head. "Auntie told me that under no circumstances was I to step foot on Reed property." She gave a sort of half-frown. "I'm supposed to wait for you and your father here."

Sakura's shoulders slumped in dismay. She almost couldn't believe that once again she was supposed to face a family of Clow Bearers by herself. But she had to save her father, so she nodded at Meilin. "Okay," she said. "See you soon." She gave Meilin a small wave, which—to her surprise—the other woman returned with a half-smile of her own. Suddenly quite happy, she walked up the driveway with a grin on her face. As she past the gate, it swung back shut behind her with a creaking bang which cause Sakura to jump slightly at the sound of it.

As she approached the intimidating mansion, the front doors opened and a breathtakingly handsome man stood on the other side of it. Sakura stared up into his cold silver blue eyes almost mesmerized though there was no warmth in his gaze. He stood aside as Sakura entered the door, but shut it quickly behind her. "Come with me," he said tonelessly. He turned his back on her—giving Sakura a good look at his hair, which was silver despite the fact that it was quite apparent that he around her brother's age. It was also longer than anyone else's that Sakura had ever seen as, though it was held together by a ponytail, it fell nearly to his ankles. He spoke no more as he led Sakura down the hall and opened a door. "In here," he directed, still in that same toneless voice.

Sakura stepped into the darkened room where only a single dim light hung over the center of the room—it's light too low to even illuminate the corners. The man who brought her here closed the door behind her. Sakura looked around her. The room was devoid of all furniture except for a single large ornate chair. Besides the one she had come in, there was only one other door behind the chair. That door opened and Sakura couldn't help but take a step back, as her hands clenched into her fists in front of her chest, as she felt some uneasy terror rush through her.

A man walked into the room and at first, in the shadowed light, Sakura thought it was her father. She could feel her lips curl up into an excited smile, but then she froze as the man came further into the light. He looked similar to her father, but she knew instantly that this man was missing the gentle happiness that she had always felt around her father. The man placed a hand on the back of the chair as he looked at her over it. "So you are his daughter," he said and though his voice was quiet, it sliced straight through Sakura's heart.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked not quite managing to keep her voice for trembling.

The man smiled but it didn't nearly reach his gray eyes—it was nothing like the warm smiles she was used to getting from others. His hand started trailing down the side as he began to walk around it. He stopped at the side of it with his hand resting on the arm of the chair. "You look like your mother," he said instead of answering her question. "Your father had a picture of her with him."

Sakura gasped as he said that and said desperately, "Please, if you have my father, let him go!"

The man didn't answer, but walked over to where she was standing and circled around her just once. Sakura was determined not to let him get to her and so she lifted her chin up and glared at him the best she could. But she couldn't help the shivers that trickled through her body as he trailed a hand softly down her cheek. He chuckled softly as he let his hand drop back to his side. As he walked back to the chair, he ignored her request as he said, "I am Eriol Reed, the leader of this Clan. I suppose that would make me your uncle," he said as he sat down in the chair.

"My uncle?" Sakura repeated.

Eriol rested his head on his hand as his free fingers drummed idly on the other arm of the chair as he answered, "Yes. Your father is my twin brother, so that would make you my niece, would it not?"

"If you're his brother, why would you kidnap him?" Sakura demanded.

A devilish smile crossed Eriol's lips. "Who said that I have your father?" he asked simply.

That gave Sakura pause for a moment until she remembered that Yelan had told her that was what her dream meant. "I know he's here," she said fiercely. "Please let him go."

"Hmm…your father is a traitor, young miss," Eriol said dispassionately. "When we discovered him here in England, what else could we do but bring him back to face his punishment?"

"My father is not a traitor," Sakura burst out, clenching her hands into fists.

"He betrayed the Clan and ran away from his responsibilities."

"But he was happy with us—with Mother, my brother, and me," she protested. Desperately, she asked, "Why wouldn't you want your brother to be happy?"

Strangely, Eriol looked over at one of the dark corners of the room for a few seconds before looking back at Sakura. In a very different tone from any Sakura had heard him use before, one that she couldn't even begin to name, he said, "Sometimes happiness must be sacrificed for the good of the Clan."

The door behind Eriol opened and two more men walked through the door. As they walked further into the light she recognized one was the man that had brought Sakura to this room while the other was Fujitaka. "Dad!" Sakura called out taking a step closer to him, but holding back slightly worried about what Eriol would do next.

"Sakura?" Fujitaka asked with shock displayed clearly in his brown eyes. He tried to run over to her, but was held back by the silver-haired man. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to take you home," Sakura said with a smile, happy to see that her father was doing just fine.

A low chuckle came from Eriol. "And how do you plan on doing that, darling Sakura?" he asked.

"Take me instead," Sakura said immediately before her mind had even clearly thought through it. An indulgent grin spread across Eriol's face at her words, causing Sakura to bristle slightly, thinking that he wasn't taking her seriously. "My Clows are much more valuable," she told him recklessly.

"Sakura," Fujitaka said with a protesting tone, but Sakura ignored him as she remembered what she had told Yelan. She knew that she would do anything to save the ones that she cared about. Perhaps Eriol was right after all…perhaps your own happiness had to be sacrificed sometimes. Sending a silent plea to **Firey** and **Watery** to _please_ not fight, for only the second time in her life, Sakura summoned all four of her Clows at the same time. **Firey **and **Earthy** appeared on her right, while **Windy** and **Watery** appeared on her left.

Eriol let out a gasp and nearly jumped up as he got to his feet. "You have all four Elemental Clows?" he asked with wide eyes—the first time Sakura had seen him with such a revealing emotion. There was a strange look in his eyes—_eager_ was the only word Sakura could think of to describe it.

"Yes," Sakura said firmly, but a slightly bit confused at his tone. "And if you promise to let my father go and leave my family alone, I will give you my word that I will stay here with you."

"Sakura, what are you doing?" Fujitaka asked.

Eriol's face recomposed itself and the indifferent grin returned. "And if I don't?" he asked, also ignoring Fujitaka.

Sakura took a step forward, and her Clows began to circle around her as they sensed her agitation. "I don't like to fight and I have never used them in such a fashion, but I _know_ my Clows can do a lot of damage if I used their full power."

"You're threatening me, aren't you," Eriol said lightly and to her great surprise, he burst into laughter. After a few moments it subsided and he continued, "My dear, you do have some spirit, don't you? Very well," he said as he sat back down in his chair. "I will give you my word to release Fujitaka and leave your family alone from now on, as long as you stay here and do as I say." He turned to look at the men behind him—her father looked nearly devastated, but the other was a picture of indifference, just like Eriol. "Yue, let Fujitaka say goodbye to his daughter." The silver-haired man let go of Fujitaka's arms.

Sakura dismissed her Clows and broke into a wide grin, as her father ran over to her and gathered her in his arms. "You shouldn't have done it, Sakura."

"You would have done the same for me," Sakura said, as tears gathered at the corner of her eyes.

"I'll find a way to come get you, Sakura," Fujitaka whispered in her ear.

Sakura no longer trusted herself to speak, so she just nodded into his shoulder, not really knowing if her father ever really would be able to do that. "Goodbye, Dad," she whispered brokenly into his ear, knowing that she had to say something. "Tell Mom and Toya that I love them."

"Yue," Eriol said succinctly. As the man walked over to them, Fujitaka let go of her. Yue grabbed her father and pulled him out of the door that Sakura had come in. Sakura turned her back on them as tears flowed freely down her cheeks, trying not to listen as her father called out her name behind her. The door closed with finality, leaving Sakura in the room with Eriol once again. Sakura wiped the tears from her cheeks as she struggled to regain control of her emotions. When she looked at Eriol again, he was studying her with a calculating look. Suddenly, he said, "Wolf."

Sakura gasped as a figure rose from the shadows of one of the corners of the room that she had not seen at all due to the low lighting. She remembered the dream she had at the Li estate and wondered if this could be the person the dream had been referring to—it seemed unlikely that it would not if the person's name was, in fact, Wolf, just like the animal in her dream. As they came into the dim light, she saw that it was man who looked strangely familiar, but she was sure that she had never seen him before. She was also sure that she had never seen a living person's eyes look so empty before. He was rather tall as well, though probably not quite as tall as perhaps her father and brother. Though he looked rather intimidating in appearance, Sakura quite inexplicably found herself not afraid of him at all—in fact, for reasons she knew she could never explain, she felt safer now with him here than she had since leaving the Li estate.

He spoke neither as he approached the chair nor when he stopped next to Eriol. "Take my darling niece to your room," Eriol said without looking at the man beside him—his gaze never wavered from Sakura. "You'll be looking after her from now on."

His expression did not change in the slightest, but Sakura let out a cry of dismay at that information. She did not relish the idea of staying with a man she had only met about five seconds before. "Wolf here is the best guard you could possibly ask for, my darling Sakura," Eriol said with a nightmarish and sadistic smile that chilled Sakura to the bone. "And I'm afraid he's the one that would be able stop you if you decide to go back on your word. Two birds, you see?"

Eriol stood up out of the chair and gave a hollow chuckle. He finally turned away from Sakura and looked at Wolf, whose expression still remained strangely blank. With feral grin he looked back at Sakura and said, "I recommend that you don't startle him or make him angry. I would hate to lose my only niece." He walked around the chair and back out the door that he had come in, leaving Sakura alone with Wolf to contemplate what he had told her.

Wolf silently looked at her for half a second before he turned away and walked towards the door behind the chair. Sakura, scared of being left alone in this room, took a step forward and called out, "Wait! Where do I go?"

Wolf paused at the door and stared at her for another second. "Follow me," he said. His voice was rough like he didn't use it very often and rather quiet. Without saying anymore, he opened the door and walked out into the hallway. Sakura hesitated for another half a second before running after him. As she walked into the hallway, light flooded her vision, causing her to squint briefly as she had been in that darkened room for quite some time. By the time her vision adjusted, Wolf was all the way down the hall and nearly around the corner. She raced after him and then walked rather timidly behind him.

The house was very different from Yelan's or her grandfather's—though it had paintings and was impeccably decorated, there seemed to be less life to it…almost as if it was a museum instead of a home. The walls were a creamy white, like they were attempting at warmth, but it still just felt stiff and cold. It wasn't long before Wolf stopped in front of a wooden door and twisted the knob to open it. Sakura stepped inside after him, stopping just on the other side of the threshold, and glanced around at the modestly decorated room—quite a bit smaller than her room at the Li estate or even at her grandfather's. The bed was at least a queen size, but that was about as high as the extravagance got in the room. There was only the barest minimum of other furniture—a dresser, an armoire, and an armed chair were all that Sakura saw. She looked around in dismay, wondering how she was supposed to share the small space with this man—not to mention the problem of only one bed.

But Wolf did not seem to share her alarm—he didn't even look at her as he crossed the room to one of the other two doors beside the entrance. It wasn't until he had opened the door that he looked back at her. "This way," he said.

Sakura jumped at the sound of his voice—he had been so quiet since they left the dark room. She cautiously walked over to the door. He didn't walk through the door, but it was clear to Sakura that she was meant to. She walked through and found herself in another bedroom similar to the one she had just been in, except there was a sofa instead of a chair and a small table with two chairs added. Besides the door she had just come in, there was one other door on the right wall. Sakura walked over to it and opened it to not find the hallway—as she was expecting—but in fact a small bathroom, also equipped with just the barest of necessities. She closed the door again and looked back around the room. Finally, she realized that the only way out was through the other bedroom—which no doubt belonged to Wolf. It may not have had bars, but this was her prison.

Sighing slightly, she walked back over to Wolf, not really sure what she was supposed to do exactly. "Do you need anything?" Wolf asked suddenly.

She looked up at him surprised that he would ask that and suddenly felt confused, though she wasn't sure what about. A stray lock of his hair—the very same color as milk chocolate—had fallen down over his eyes. Without knowing why she was doing it, Sakura reached up a hand to brush it away, but Wolf abruptly stepped back away from her before she could even touch him—an emotion flashed in his amber eyes so briefly that Sakura didn't even had time to recognize it. Without a word, he turned away from her and walked back into his own room, resolutely shutting the door behind him.

After another moment, Sakura let her hand drop back to her side and glanced around the room again. She walked over to the bed and flopped back on it, breathing out in almost exasperation. Dad…Mom…Toya…Tomoyo…she wondered if she would ever see any of them again. She closed her eyes and found the vision of Wolf's face floating across her mind. She furrowed her brows in thought, trying to remember where she had seen that color of eyes before.


	5. Revelations of Nothing

Tomoyo propped her elbow on the armrest of the door and set her head in her hand as she worriedly gazed out of the car window. The scenery of the mountainous trees was buzzing past—they had left behind the highway on Lantau Island about ten minutes before and were now traveling down Tung Chung Road through the mountains to the other side of the island where the Li estate was located off the South Lantau Road. The view was breathtakingly beautiful, but Tomoyo couldn't focus on that at the moment as she was worried about Sakura and Fujitaka. She looked at the other occupants of the car—Nadeshiko sat despondent beside her in the back with Toya tensely in the front seat next to the cab driver. It had been nearly a week since Sakura had left Japan to go see Yelan Li—Rika and Terada had arrived back just two days after they left saying that Sakura was staying to try and convince Yelan to help them.

To put it very lightly, Toya had not been happy when he had come to Grandfather's house the day after Sakura left and found out that she was gone. It had only been thanks to Nadeshiko's intervention that he had not gone on a roaring crusade after her. Rika and Terada had been certain in their belief that Sakura would be safe at the Li estate—nothing else would have convinced them to leave Sakura alone in Yelan's hands.

They had no more word until a letter had been hand delivered to her grandfather's house the previous day.

Tomoyo looked down at Nadeshiko's pale hands where the letter was still held tightly within their grasp. She hadn't let go of the paper since the messenger had personally laid it in her palms. Tomoyo only knew what it said due to the fact that she had been there when it had arrived and had be unable to stop herself from looking over her aunt's shoulder to read it, especially since the moment her eyes had landed on the paper, Nadeshiko had gone rather pale and had tensed up. The message on the paper had been very brief. It had said:

_Fujitaka Kinomoto has been returned. You may come to our home to collect him._

It had been signed by Yelan Li. The moment she finished reading the letter, Tomoyo had immediately called for her grandfather and Toya and told them about it. Toya had insisted on going with his mother to Hong Kong after Masaki had told them the location of the Li estate, just like he had with Sakura what seemed like forever ago. Tomoyo went along as well, as she should have done in the first place with Sakura. But she knew that Sakura would have worried about her the whole time, seeing as Tomoyo's Clow had no offensive or defensive capabilities. So, here they were in the car, less than five minutes away from the Li estate, hoping to be reunited with their missing families members soon.

None of them had mentioned that the letter had not said anything about Sakura.

Tomoyo could tell they were all worried about it, but if they were to say it out loud, it would make it all the more real that there was a possibility that something was wrong. Tomoyo sighed heavily and move her hands back into her lap as she stared down at them. Perhaps she was overthinking the whole situation and the fact that Yelan had not mentioned Sakura in her letter actually meant nothing at all. The letter had not been long after all, and perhaps she had not felt the need to include any more information than necessary.

But Tomoyo rather thought that a woman like Yelan Li—whose family was not only famous in the hidden world of Clows, but also in the real business world—would understand the importance of words. The message had specifically said "_collect him_" and not "_collect them_". Tomoyo had a terrible feeling about the whole affair.

"Are we there yet?" Toya asked suddenly in his deep voice with his tone full of impatience. Tomoyo looked up at her other cousin, whose fingers were tapping against his knee. There was a hard look in his dark brown eyes that Tomoyo only ever saw when Sakura was involved in something that Toya didn't like. He was terribly protective of his younger sister, which he hid very well behind a mask of teasing.

"Almost, sir," the driver replied dispassionately.

Toya grunted in a non-committal way and turned his gaze away. Tomoyo studied him for another moment longer before she looked outside again to see that they were finally leaving the mountain road and entering a more city-like area with buildings slowly coming into view in the near distance. The rest of the ride was quiet until the cab stopped in front of an impressively large door to a walled area. Two men were standing outside it on other side of doors.

There was a pause after the driver told them they arrived that all three of them just sat in the car before Toya opened the door and stepped out. He walked quickly around the car to Nadeshiko's door and pulled it open before holding out his hand to his mother. A small smile graced Nadeshiko's lips as she took Toya's offered hand and allowed him to help out of the car. Tomoyo felt a smile curl up slightly at the edges of her lips at the sight of the small courtesy. Tomoyo pulled the door handle and stepped out onto the street on her own—she knew Toya would have helped her as well, but she was too eager for news of Sakura to wait.

After paying the driver, the three watched him drive away for a few seconds before turning to the imposing door. This time it was Nadeshiko to move first as she lifted her skirt slightly as she ascended the stairs, tripping only slightly on the very last step, but Toya was there to catch her arm before she fell over completely. She whispered her gratitude towards her son as she walked up to one of the men standing at the door. "I am Nadeshiko Kinomoto," she said to one of the guards, finally relinquishing the note in her hand to him.

The guard glanced over the letter before nodding at the other guard. Together, they opened the large doors and the one who had the letter in his hand led them along the path to the vast home where the Li Dynasty resided. At the entrance to the building, they were met by a smiling middle-aged man who introduced himself as Wei. The guard went back along the path to his post as the three of them followed Wei into the house.

Toya's hands clenching and unclenching into fists were showing his anxiety. Tomoyo looked up at his face to find his jaw tense and his eyes hard. Nadeshiko, on the other hand, had an almost spring to her step that increased the further they got into the house. Wei stopped in front of a door and pulled it open. He bowed slightly and held out a hand, indicating that they should enter. Toya strode in first, followed nearly on his heels by Nadeshiko, leaving Tomoyo to trail behind.

Time seemed to stop for a moment as they all just stared at the tall man standing beside the cracked open sliding door on the other side of the room. Nadeshiko raced across the room, clumsily tripping on air about half-way through, but it didn't matter as Fujitaka was there to sweep her up into his arms. Nadeshiko wrapped her arms around Fujitaka's neck and buried her face in his neck as Fujitaka sat down on the bed with her still in his arms and began to stroke her hair. Tomoyo covered her smile with her hand as she almost giggled at the pair; sometimes, her aunt and uncle could act like they were still newlyweds.

"I am glad to see you reunited." Everyone looked at the door for the source of the voice. Tomoyo could only assume that the regal woman standing in the doorway was Yelan Li. She inclined her head slightly to Fujitaka and Nadeshiko as she walked into the room. "Forgive my intrusion. I am Yelan Li, and this is my daughter, Feimei," she finished, indicating the other woman who walked into the room with her.

"Where is Sakura?" Toyo demanded, wasting no time, taking a step forward towards Yelan.

Yelan turned her attention toward Toya. Her gaze was piercing as she studied him and, for a moment, Tomoyo thought that she wasn't going to answer him. Finally, she said, "My niece told me that she remained with the Reed Clan, though she did not know why." She looked back over at Fujitaka, as if indicating that he would hold the answers that Toya sought for.

Nadeshiko raised her hand to Fujitaka's cheek. "Fujitaka, why would she stay with him?" she asked him quietly.

There was a look of deep sadness as he looked down at his wife. Nadeshiko seemed to understand as she gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Tomoyo could feel herself begin to quake as the scenarios of what could have happened to her beloved cousin raced across her mind. It seemed to alarm Toya too as he bit out, "What? What is it?"

Fujitaka looked at Yelan. "Mrs. Li, I know you possess **Dream**. Will you please use it to see what is happening with Sakura?"

Yelan's reply this time was instant. "I made an exception once for your family. I am not much inclined to do so again." There was a small pause as she looked at them as if searching for something. She shook her head and said, "No. You will leave after dinner this evening and return to the Amamiya home." She said it with a tone of finality and turned to leave.

But Fujitaka slipped Nadeshiko off his lap as he stood up. "Please," he tried again. "Sakura gave herself for me. I can't leave her in that house. You don't know what Eriol is like."

Yelan raised one single eyebrow as she turned back around to look at Fujitaka. "Do you know why your brother would agree to trade you for Sakura?" she asked.

"Yes," Fujitaka said sadly. "It is because of Sakura's Clows. I only have **Sand**, but she has the Elemental Clows, so my—"

But Yelan interrupted him. "She had the Elemental Clows? All of them?" Yelan asked. There were only the barest hints of alarm in her voice that gave away her feelings.

Fujitaka and Nadeshiko exchanged a glance that spoke volumes in their shock at Yelan's alarm. Fujitaka nodded at her. "I know it's hard to believe because it happens so rarely," he said almost apologetically.

"As rare as the Attributes," Feimei said quietly.

Yelan looked over at her and Feimei flinched as if she was expecting some harsh rebuke or angry comment, but Yelan was just quiet for a long time before she lowered her eyes and quietly said, "Yes…and never before at the same time…" She placed her finger on her chin in thought and whispered so quietly that Tomoyo barely heard her, "…coincidence…"

But Tomoyo's mind was already whirling. The way Yelan had stated it made it sound like someone right now was the Clow Bearer to the Attributes—something Tomoyo had not known. She looked around at the room. Toya remained tense at her side. Nadeshiko was looking at Fujitaka, while he was staring intently at Yelan. Feimei, too, was staring at her mother but with something like confusion on her face. Tomoyo took the chance to speak. "But…what does that mean?" she asked.

Yelan blinked as she looked over at Tomoyo. "It means, Miss Amamiya, that you may remain here," she said. She nodded at Feimei, who walked out the door at whatever silent command her mother had given. "I have decided that perhaps it may be worth using my Clow. I will have rooms prepared for you," she finished as she left the room, leaving all the occupants behind to stare in wonder at the sudden change of attitude from Yelan.

* * *

><p>The rain was falling from the sky in just a bare drizzle. The raindrops slicked down the sides of the black sedan car as it drove through the streets. It wasn't unusual weather—there were far more cloudy and rainy days here than sunny (stereotypes, after all, are built around some truth for the most part)—and it was nothing that would have any effect on the mission itself.<p>

The car looked like any other town car one would see in any city in Britain. But just because it didn't look like a tank did not mean that it didn't have nearly the same capabilities. Eriol Reed was a man of impeccable taste and brilliant strategies. It was simply gaudy to roll around the streets of London in a real tank—not to mention Parliament might have a fit—and there was a sort of primeval satisfaction about driving up to the unsuspecting enemy and seeing their confused expressions before unleashing a relentless mighty fury upon them. But the physical weapons of the car were not often used as the _real_ weapons of the Reed Clan were the two men who were sitting inside.

One in particular, at that very moment, might have appeared sound asleep to the casual observer as his eyes were closed and his arms were folded loosely across his chest. His thoughts were neither on the car nor on the mission that he was about to accomplish with Yue, which was merely another "request" from the government to shut down a criminal group by any means.

No, his mind was dwelling—as it never had before—on a single individual that he had left behind at the manor house. Sakura Kinomoto; Eriol's chatty, cheerful prisoner that he, Wolf, had been given charge over. He had never before had been given a responsibility like this, nor he had ever had the inclination to dwell on any one person until she arrived. It had always been unnecessary, and he'd been taught that there was little value to life—whether it be his own or others. He wondered how he could really with as many others as he's taken away with his Clow.

The car rolled to a stop and Wolf's eyes opened, noticing idly that the rain had stopped, but the sky was still overcast. They had stopped outside a building that looked like any of the other warehouses around it, but it was surrounded by a wall. Wolf and Yue stepped out of the car and stood about fifteen feet away from the gate leading into the complex. The car drove off down the street, just far enough to be out of range of the building, but not so far as to not be able to come back and support the two of them if they required it. All was quiet—it seemed that whoever they were (and Wolf didn't particularly care to know—Eriol had told them to destroy this building and all those who dwelled in it; Wolf didn't need to know anything beyond that) they had not yet figured out they were here or at least who they were. They would pay dearly for being so incautious.

Yue called out his Clow, while Wolf did not (he had standing orders when it came to his Clow). **Arrow** appeared as a small girl child with a fierce expression of determination on her face wearing a violet blue outfit with long boots and gloves. Her defining characteristic was the large round red jewel resting at the crown of her head in her pastel pink hair. Yue lifted his hands into position—as if he was already holding a bow and arrow, though nothing was in his hands—and spoke **Arrow**'s name in a dispassionate voice. In his hands appeared a bow set that seemed to be made of nothing but energy or light. He took aim at the gate doors, and around him, dozens more arrows of energy blinked into life; all of them were pointed directly at the gate as well. Yue let the arrows fly and, they flew impossibly fast towards the gate, exploding it inward towards the building upon impact.

The two of them took positions on either side of the giant hole that was once the gate, taking cover in what remained of the wall, as they heard sirens and the rush of movement from inside the complex. The sound of bullets ricocheted off the walls behind them. Yue took the chance every few seconds between volleys to send his own arrows shooting again into the complex by the dozens. Wolf could tell when he made a hit as the sounds of men's dying cries flitted through his ears.

As it most often always was, using his Clow would be the simplest solution, though he had never used his Clow on anything so large before—he was unsure what the consequences would be for him. His Clow drained his magical energy immensely (which directly affected his physical state)—he could only assume that was the reason Eriol didn't have a particular liking for Wolf's Clow even though he would not hesitate to have him use it if it was the means to accomplish a mission, though Wolf always had been and would always be the last resort. Wolf knew that Eriol would not be pleased if he used it so early in the mission—especially one in which Yue was clearly accomplishing without too much difficulty. Yet, he felt something that he never had before…a certain impatience—that was formed from both urgency and desire—to return the manor house as quickly as he could. He could not quite place it, but for a brief moment his mind conjured the image of Sakura's smiling face before she slipped away.

He glanced over at Yue, who was still calmly using **Arrow** to assail their enemy. Almost without truly making the decision to act, he summoned his Clow from the nether and she appeared before his eyes. She was a young girl like **Arrow**, but her expression was empty and devoid of all emotion. Both her hair and dress were long and flowing and two small deceptive angel wings spread out behind her head. A large blue jewel rested in the center of her forehead. He saw Yue glanced back at him and heard him bite out the words, "What are you doing?" in an annoyed tone, but Wolf paid him no mind as he stepped out behind the wall and faced the building. He encompassed the whole complex into his view and concentrated his power as he spoke a single word to activate his Clow.

"**Void**."

Instantly, the entire area was encompassed in a gigantic black orb. It could be seen though for a moment before it turned completely opaque for a few seconds before disappearing. Everything that had been inside it—the ground, the building, the people—was gone, completely erased from existence by his Clow, leaving nothing left but a giant empty crater.

It only took a moment more before the effect of using **Void** hit Wolf like a shot of lightning. It was as if every nerve had simply ignited with pain, but he knew that was not actual physical pain that he was feeling. He could hear Yue say his name, but it was as if Wolf's mind was shutting down—he was minutely aware that it was entirely possible that was exactly what his mind was doing—it sounded like Yue was saying it as if they were underwater, but that wasn't the only strange thing about it. Yue's voice sounded like he was screaming Wolf's name…but Yue never raised his voice. He was much too cold and detached for that. Wolf knew then that he must have been imagining it due to his mind's overload because there was no way that he heard actual true alarm in Yue's voice.

He was suddenly aware that he was falling and that he had no control over it. His eyes closed and Sakura's face flashed across his ragged mind. He was briefly glad that the mission was now over so that he could go home—but that was bizarre in itself as he had never thought of the manor house as home before, though he had lived there all his life.

As darkness swam around his mind, blurring all thought, Sakura's image disappeared and another woman's image appeared—one he would have sworn in that moment that he had never met before. It was unclear and fuzzy, but he knew she was beautiful. However, she gave him a feeling of warmth that he did not recognize that flowed through him as he fell into the abyss.


	6. Jewel Moon

Sakura put her last card down on her she-lost-count-a-good-fifty-games-ago time playing a game of solitaire that day. Catching an easy ace on her first turn of the cards, she placed it up in its proper spot as she let her mind wander to the situation she found herself in. She'd been here in the Reed mansion for over three days. Stuck in this very room to be precise.

And except for her uncle and Yue that first day, she'd seen absolutely no one but Wolf and one maid who came in once a day. The maid, a shorter woman with a bob of brown hair and glasses with large circular lenses, had only come twice—once yesterday and once the day before that. Sakura had attempted to start a conversation with her or even learn her name, but she had been unsuccessful so far, though the maid had given her a small smile before she left today.

Wolf was a completely different situation. She'd seen him more than just a few times as he was the one who brought her meals. But she was quickly coming to learn that being with him was like being alone anyway. Wolf brought in her food and then stood at the door waiting for her to finish. After her first two meals of tense silences and unanswered questions, Sakura had stopped trying to ask Wolf anything. However, last night at dinner, she'd tried a different tactic as she had decided to refuse to give up.

So, she had started talking to him without asking him anything—she just rambled on about anything that came to mind. About her childhood, her family, her school (which she was completely missing—she wondered for a brief moment if her uncle would let her finish her education)—she jumped around subjects as one tangent led to another. Wolf had remained silent the entire time she was talking. This morning, she had repeated the process during breakfast, and she mentioned in that long one-sided conversation a wish that she had something to do. Wolf had again said nothing, but when she had gotten out of her shower that morning after he left, there was a pack of cards lying on the table.

It had come as a complete surprise, considering that the gift most likely came from Wolf. And that just confused her to no end, because (other than bringing her food) he had given her no indication that he cared for her well-being at all. But as she was not one to be ungrateful for any gift (and she really quite literally had nothing else to do), she had sat down and started playing the only game she knew how to play with a deck of cards: Solitaire.

As she put the King of Hearts on top of its pile to finish the game, she looked forlornly at the clock. It was well past the time that Wolf usually brought her lunch. She wasn't extremely hungry yet, but he had never been late before. And though she could not even begin to explain (even to herself) why, she was worried about him. There wasn't really anything she could do about it either because she was locked up in this room—though, to be completely honest, any one of her Clows could get her out, but she'd given her word to her uncle.

Sakura gazed at the door for a few moments, but it remained resolutely shut. Sighing, she gathered up the cards into another uniform stack but put them aside this time instead of starting a new game. Concentrating for half a second, she called out **Windy** for company as she always had before in her more lonely moments. Sakura loved all her Clows, but **Windy** had always been the most comforting with her gentle nature. **Windy** swirled around her once before coming to rest in the air above her left shoulder with a calm smile of her face.

"I know I shouldn't care what happens to him, because I doubt he will ever agree to be my friend," Sakura said to the Clow sadly. She looked down at the deck of cards again and trailed her fingers softly across the top. "But I do care," she said quietly. "And I want to be his friend."

_You must first free his heart, Mistress_, **Windy** said. Her lips did not move, but Sakura heard her voice clearly in her mind. She knew most Clows could speak to their Bearers, but Sakura had only had them speak to her a few times before. But that might have been because she didn't call out her Clows very often.

Still, she looked over at Windy in surprise—more for what she said then that she had said anything. "What do you mean?" she asked.

_It was hidden long ago to protect him_, **Windy** said.

"Protect him from what?" Sakura asked alarmed.

_We do not know, Mistress, _**Windy** replied sadly and apologetically. _The one who protects him now is not complete. She has waited a long time in the nothing for him and you._

"Are you talking about his Clow?" Sakura asked. She had no idea what it was as she had neither asked him, nor had he told her what it was. All she knew was that her uncle thought it was powerful enough to stop her should she go back on her word. She frowned in confusion as she added, "And waiting for me?"

_Mistress_, **Windy** said solemnly as she placed her small hand against Sakura's cheek. _The power to free them is in you._

Before Sakura could ask what she meant by that, the door to Wolf's room burst open and a woman she had never seen before strode inside with a tray of food in her arms. "Hi!" the woman said brightly, treating Sakura with the first sincere smile since she had arrived in this dismal mansion. "I'm Ruby," she added as she walked over to the table.

Sakura dismissed **Windy**, but her Clow left her with a lingering whisper of the words, _We believe in you, Mistress!_ Sakura's smile graced her face as she thought of her Clows and turned her attention to the woman as she unceremoniously set the tray on the table. There was a mischievous sparkle in her light brown eyes as she practically flopped onto the chair opposite of Sakura. She propped one of her legs over the other as she flipped her long hair—which was a reddish brown color with almost unbelievable magenta pink streaks in it—over her shoulder, before looking down at her hands and inspecting her fingernails. "Sorry that your lunch is late," Ruby said as she glanced briefly up at Sakura. "Since Wolf usually takes care of everything that has to do with you, it took Mother and I awhile before we remembered that you probably hadn't eaten yet."

Sakura blinked at her for a few seconds, looked down at the food on the tray which held her usual lunch fare, and then lifted her gaze back to the woman again who had to at least be her brother's age. She meant to politely say hello and introduce herself, but what came tumbling out of her mouth was the question, "Where's Wolf?"

She waved her hand in a breezy and dismissing manner as she said, "Dad sent him and my hubby off on some mission. I got stuck staying here since my Clow is almost nearly useless in action compared to theirs."

That explained nearly nothing to Sakura as she cocked her head to the side and let out a sigh of confusion. "Dad?" she repeated bewildered.

"My dad's Eriol Reed, you know, the big old Head of the Clan," Ruby said. She placed her finger against her cheek and said, "I guess that makes us cousins, doesn't it?"

"Cousins? Really?" Sakura asked excited. She hadn't really thought of Eriol as family per se, and she'd had no idea that he had a wife or children. She couldn't help but let a grin out across her lips as she thought that she had someone else that she had a connection with in this isolated new home.

"You're happy about that?" Ruby asked with a confused smile on her lips and a slightly raised brow. Obviously, she didn't think that Sakura could be happy to know _anyone_ in the house, considering that, by default, everyone in the household had a part in basically keeping her prisoner here. But, Sakura didn't actually think like that—the only one she truly considered her jailer was Eriol himself.

"Of course," Sakura said with a smile to reassure the other woman. "I thought I was alone here, but now, I have family." Hopping slightly in her chair because of happiness, she began to eat her lunch. After finishing off one of the small triangular sandwiches, she wiped her fingers on a napkin and pouted out her lips in thought. Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked, "So, could you tell me about Wolf?"

A strange expression—almost like guilt—crossed Ruby's face. She began to pick at her fingernails as she said, "Wolf is—well, I guess you could say Wolf is sort of my brother," she finished with a slight wave of her hand.

"He's my cousin, too?" Sakura asked horrified for reasons she did not know. All she knew was that she, under no circumstances, wanted to be related to Wolf in any way.

"No, we're not related by blood," Ruby clarified and Sakura let out a breath that she hadn't even realized she was holding in as she let her shoulders relax in relief. She picked up another sandwich and took some bites out of it as Ruby continued, "We…picked him up when he was little." She paused there at the beginning of the sentence as if she wasn't quite sure what word she wanted to use.

Sakura nodded—this made sense to her. The Clow Bearing families would often adopt or welcome in Clow Bearers that they came across (at least that is what her grandfather told her), like the Amamiya Family had done with Rika. "Because he's a Clow Bearer?" she asked.

"You could say that," Ruby replied evasively. Sakura frowned at the slightly unusual answer as she took a sip from her cup.

But since this was more information than she had ever gotten from Wolf himself, she figured that she better find out as much as she could before Wolf returned and she was back to rambling on about nothing. Speaking of which, she was piqued to ask, "Why is he so closed off?"

Ruby shrugged and it was a few seconds before she actually answered the question. "He lost his memories when he was younger," she said solemnly—there was another odd, almost guilty look in her eyes as she said this. "He changed after that. Especially after his Clow appeared," she finished and Sakura could have sworn that she saw a flash of fear in her eyes as she mentioned the Clow.

"Do you know when he'll be back?" Sakura asked as she finished up her lunch and pushed the plate slightly away from her. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy having Ruby with her—she was, after all, someone who actually held a conversation with Sakura. But she found herself missing Wolf; she'd grown somewhat accustomed to having his presence around.

Ruby checked her watch and bit her bottom lip. She smiled at Sakura as she lowered her arm again and said, "I'd say within the next hour or so."

Suddenly, a commotion from Wolf's room drew their attention. Sakura's stomach made a slight jump inside her in anticipation of seeing Wolf again. But it was clear that Ruby did not share her enthusiasm. Frowning deeply with her expression somewhere between worry and confusion, Ruby stood from her seat and walked to the door. She left it open as she walked into the other room. Sakura jumped to her feet to follow, eager to continue her own mission of befriending Wolf and to actually leave the room for the first time in nearly three days. But when she entered the other room, Sakura gasped at the sight that met her.

She recognized Yue from her first night here. He was standing with his arms folded across his chest as he watched two men that were unfamiliar to Sakura carry Wolf into the room, still in their arms.

Ruby let them pass before she ran over to where Yue was standing. "What happened?" Ruby asked as she placed a hand on his arm, which—to Sakura's surprise—Yue did not shrug off. Yue had not struck her as the type that liked physical contact.

"The idiot used his Clow," Yue said as he simply stared angrily at Wolf.

Ruby glanced back at Wolf, who was being laid down on the bed. "On what?" she asked, sounding distinctly alarmed. Unsure of what she should do exactly, Sakura walked over to the bed as the men who had carried Wolf in left the room. Wolf looked more peaceful than at any other time Sakura had ever seen him. His eyes were closed, and Sakura felt a breath of relief leave her when she saw his chest rising and falling slightly. Her hand reached out, and she trailed her fingertips along the side of his arm.

Sakura looked up at the two again as Yue answered. "The whole area. I've never seen him use it like that before," Yue bit out furiously. Suddenly, his expression softened slightly as he said much more quietly with a more gentle tone, "At first, I thought he'd died."

Ruby let her hand fall back to her side. She looked over at the door and bit her bottom lip before she said almost flatly, "Father will not be happy."

"No, he will not," Yue agreed simply, his tone just as flat.

There was silence for a few seconds. Sakura almost didn't think that they were going to say anything else as she sat down on the bed and looked back down at Wolf. She didn't really understand what was going on or what was wrong with Wolf. She wanted to ask if he would be okay but didn't want to draw attention to herself because then Ruby or Yue might make her go back into her room. After about a minute of silence, Ruby suddenly asked, "How long?"

"I don't know," Yue replied.

Sakura looked back and forth between them. Unable to not know any longer, she finally said, "I don't understand. What happened?"

Yue and Ruby looked at each for a moment. Yue shrugged and turned away, so Ruby sighed and said, "Wolf's Clow—while very powerful—takes an immense physical toll on him. Dad doesn't like him to use it, unless he has to."

"Which he didn't," Yue interjected tersely. "I was handling the mission."

Sakura had heard about this before but had never actually experienced it herself. No one in her family other than herself had Clows powerful to take such a serious toll on them with a normal amount of use, and Sakura herself didn't use her Clows often enough or for big enough jobs for it to happen to herself. "He's going to be okay, right?" Sakura asked worried.

"Since he hasn't killed himself, he should wake up eventually," Yue said with a derogatory note in his tone.

"I'll take care of him until he does," Sakura volunteered instantly as she stood up, surprising herself and clearly Ruby and Yue as well as their eyes widened.

"Strange that you should say that," a new voice interrupted and Sakura looked to find Eriol walking in the room. He walked over to the opposite side of the bed from where Sakura was standing. He looked down at Wolf with an expressionless face, but there was a definite emotion that he was not controlling brewing in his eyes. After a few seconds, he lifted his gaze to look at Sakura. "You should be in your room," he stated flatly.

"Sorry, Dad," Ruby said. Sakura was surprised at the breezy tone in her voice—Eriol did not seem like the type of man you used such a casual tone with. "I'd just brought her lunch when they brought Wolf in. She followed me when I came to see what was going on." Eriol looked over at his daughter but didn't say anything.

"Please let me take care of him, Uncle Eriol," Sakura said pleadingly. Eriol turned his gaze back to her. "I haven't tried to leave or use my Clows. And I won't," she finished fiercely. After her talk with **Windy**, she was more determined than ever to befriend Wolf and save him and whoever "the one who protects him" was. **Windy** told her that the power was in her—Sakura knew that meant she was the only one who could do it. So, even if she had to stay here as Eriol's prisoner and follow his terms, she would do that for Wolf.

"So, you haven't," Eriol said. There was a different look in his eyes now as he studied her—Sakura thought it might have been confusion. Almost as if he didn't know why she hadn't called out **Firey** and burned his entire house to the ground yet. They stood there, staring at each other from across the bed, for another minute. Finally, Eriol nodded. "Very well. For the time being, the door between your room and Wolf's will remain unlocked. You may come and go between those rooms as you wish."

Sakura beamed at him and exclaimed, "Thank you!"

Eriol twisted his head slightly and narrowed his eyes at her. He looked away without saying anything and started to walk back out of the room. As he crossed the room he said, "Yue, see to it that we get an IV set up in here for Wolf. Ruby, tell your mother about the new arrangement. Also, you will be in charge of Sakura's meals until Wolf wakes up." He left the room with Yue and Ruby trailing obediently behind him. The door closed behind them and Sakura could hear the bolt turning in the lock.

She was alone again with Wolf. Sakura sat back down on the bed and looked down at his face, hoping that he would wake up soon.


	7. Dream and Silence

Feimei watched her mother in silence. When she had first left the Amamiyas after her mother's silent command, she had immediately sought out Wei to get two more rooms set up for their guests. Once Toya and Tomoyo were all set, she immediately went to her mother, who had retired to the solitude of her sitting room as usual—her mother had always spent a lot of time in this room, but she had practically secluded herself here since…that day.

Her father, Shuang, had done the opposite after what happened; throwing himself into his work with fervor that could not be controlled. It really wasn't any wonder that he had barely lasted a decade longer than his son, and her father's death had just taken another toll on her mother, furthering her reclusiveness so much that Yelan went outside the complex only a couple of times each year, if that. Fortunately, her oldest sister Shiefa and her husband, Liang, had been old enough to shoulder the burden their father's death and their mother's inactivity had caused. The past few weeks had seen more emotion and activity from Yelan than Feimei had seen in a long time.

When long minutes passed without her mother acknowledging her (though she knew Yelan knew that she was sitting there), only her lifelong training and respect for her mother kept her from immediately broadcasting her anxiety and desire to know what Yelan was thinking. She simply sat behind Yelan as her mother looked out into the center garden, deep in her thoughts that Feimei could only just guess what they were. "I don't know what this means, Feimei," Yelan finally said, almost an hour after Feimei had arrived in the room.

"Even if it has never happened before, what could it mean now?" Feimei asked as gently as she could. The subject of her brother was never brought up around Yelan. She could remember waking up that night to her mother's agonized scream and her father's angry roar and the stillness and quiet that had emanated from Yelan at the funeral they had held for him shortly after he died. She had just been a little girl, but she had understood exactly what it meant when they lowered that tiny coffin into the ground. So, Feimei had spoken without thinking that afternoon but had been surprised by her mother's calm answer to her comment. Because of that, she felt somewhat safe bringing it up again.

And, like earlier, there were a few long quiet moments before her mother answered, "Perhaps **Dream** will give me answers tonight."

"So you are going to use it?" Feimei asked. She had expected that her mother would help them after the words she had left the Amamiyas, but she couldn't have been completely positive when it came to her mother.

"Yes. It is the only way to know," Yelan said.

"What do you hope to find?" Feimei asked.

Yelan did not answer this time. They sat in silence again as the sun set, welcoming the night. Finally, Yelan stood up and said quietly, "The truth," before she left the room without another word. Feimei sat there a while longer, not even sure what she should think about.

* * *

><p>Yelan lay down in her bed and called out her Clow. <strong>Dream<strong> appeared over her and as Yelan spoke her name softly, she changed into the blue butterfly and landed on Yelan's forehead. Instantly, Yelan found herself in the familiar black abyss that was always present at the beginning of dreams induced by her Clow. A few seconds later, two familiar objects appeared—objects she had only just seen the outline of the last time **Dream** had used her power on Yelan. A chained wolf, exactly as Sakura had described it, laid underneath a tree in bloom with cherry blossoms. It appeared to be sleeping as its eyes were closed, and the tree was overhanging the wolf…almost as if it was protecting it.

Cautiously, Yelan walked closer over to the wolf and tree. Pink petals fell gently from the tree and as they hit the chain the wolf was hooked to, the chain began to dissolve and break. Just as Yelan was within a few feet of them, the tree began to glow and transformed into a heart with a small crown above it and angel wings sprouting from its sides. Circling around the heart were four glowing orbs, each one a different color—blue, red, green, and brown. At the same time, the wolf glowed as well but morphed into a young girl with silvery-grey hair and wings on the back of her head. She wore a long flowing dress and had an expression of the deepest sorrow on her face. Like the heart, the girl had orbs floating around her, except there were only two of them. One was black while the other was white.

When she first saw them, she thought they might be Clows, but she knew that was impossible. The Li Dynasty had extensive knowledge on every Clow—having been partnered to each of the forty at some point in time—including drawings and names. Yelan knew each and every one of the Clows and what they looked like. They were not Clows; it simply could not be. As she watched wondering what they were or what they could possibly represent, the winged heart floated down to the girl who caught it in her arms. Her expression changed instantly to one of infinite happiness.

Before she could even begin to decipher what this could mean, the world was plunged again into blackness, which she knew meant the dream was over. She sat up slowly as she woke, dismissing her Clow almost subconsciously, as her thoughts lingered on what she had just seen. When she looked at the window, she could tell dawn was just barely breaking over the horizon. She stepped out of bed, calling her maid to help her dress quickly and quietly. Once she was clothed, she dismissed her maid again; still she was only half aware of what was going on around her as her mind was focused on her thoughts of the dream. A small suspicion had crept into her mind and she could not dismiss it, no matter how much her heart could not bear to dwell on it.

Before the rest of the house awoke, before the others could come ask her what her dream was, she slipped silently out of the house and walked through the gardens letting her feet carry her to the destination she had in mind. It was a few minutes before she reached the place she was walking towards—the cemetery of the Li Dynasty. It was another minute or so before she found the marker she was looking for…not very long as it was one of the newest ones there—only one marker marked a grave younger than this one. Well tended flowers were growing around it, which made Yelan's lips curl into a small smile, knowing it would have been Wei who would have seen to them so lovingly as Yelan herself had not been to see the marker since they had lowered the tiny body inside the grave.

As she reached the marker, she kneeled in front of it, trailing her fingers along the carved name—a name that she had given him…a name that was causing the thoughts in her mind. The dates on the stone caught her eyes, just four small years between them. "But how could it be?" she whispered to the empty air which gave her no reply. She had held the little body in her arms. She had felt no life inside it. But she had also seen the results…there was no cause of death. He had just _died_. And yet, perhaps he _hadn't_, after all.

The tree and the wolf…one clearly meant Sakura, and perhaps the other one really meant... "Syaoran," Yelan whispered, speaking his name for the first time in seventeen years. She had sensed something about Sakura that very day they met…a feeling that they were connected. Perhaps they weren't connected _yet_, but they were _going_ to be. Perhaps Sakura was _his_ destined one…

She covered her face with her hands. She had feared it to be true and so she had let it be true. But if he was alive…if he hadn't actually died that night…_where was he?_ Yelan let her hands fall into her lap and looked up into the sky. There was a way to find out, a way to completely sure of what had happened that night. It was not in the sky right now, but she knew that the full moon had just been last week so she would have to wait about three more weeks before she could use it—as it could only be used on that night—but when that time came, she would use her other Clow, **Return**, to go back to that night and find out for herself. She should have thought of it before, but she had been too grief-stricken to consider much of anything at the time.

"I am coming, my son," she whispered.

* * *

><p>Sakura could tell that Ruby was really worried. Each time she greeted Sakura was a little less bright than the time before it. Throughout that day and the next as she brought in meals for Sakura, Ruby's eyes would glance more and more often to Wolf, who had not stirred a single inch since he was brought in. Sakura had stayed in the room the entire time (except for those few minutes when some servants had come in and changed his clothes), though she mostly just hovered over Wolf for most of the time, unsure of exactly what she was supposed to do.<p>

She had no real medical knowledge beyond the basics of first aid (and what she'd seen in movies, but Tomoyo had told her that those weren't really accurate anyway), but she also couldn't bring herself to just leave him alone. That first night she had returned reluctantly to her room to sleep, though she had kept the door open just in case. She had a fitful sleep, waking every few hours in her worried state.

She was tired the next day, but she had not let that stop her from staying by Wolf's side the whole day. Since she still wasn't sure what she could do for him (there wasn't even really any sweat she could dab from his brow with a wet cloth like she'd seen in movies), she spent most of the time just talking to him, like she had before when he would stand silent as she prattled on about various unimportant things.

Ruby came in twice, once for breakfast and another for lunch, but as evening time rolled around, it was another woman (probably around her parent's age but she couldn't be absolutely positive) who brought in her dinner. "Good evening," she said as she handed Sakura a tray of food, which Sakura sat down on the armed chair to eat. Ruby usually sat on the dresser as she waited for Sakura to finish eating, but this woman—who looked somewhat like Ruby, Sakura noticed—remained standing as she turned her gaze toward Wolf and watched him silently. Sakura didn't know who this woman was, but she gave Sakura a nice warm feeling causing her to trust her. But she gave off an aura that made Sakura not want to interpret her silence, so she ate her meal quietly.

"You probably know this, but I'm Sakura," she introduced herself as she finished her meal.

"Indeed, I do," the woman said with a kind and gentle look in her golden brown eyes as she looked at Sakura with a small smile on her face. "I am Kaho Reed."

"Ruby's mother," Sakura realized out loud but left unsaid her other thought—that she was her uncle Eriol's wife.

Kaho nodded in agreement with her statement with a small smile. But her expression turned quietly sad as she said, "I'm sorry for what has befallen you, Sakura. It is a terrible thing to be separated from your family," she finished, strangely returning her gaze to look at Wolf as she said it.

Sakura tilted her head slightly to the side at that. "Did you know Wolf's family?" she asked, wondering if that was the reason behind her looking at Wolf. When Kaho did not immediately answer, she continued, "Ruby said that you picked him up. I thought that meant you found him as an orphan."

Still, Kaho did not reply but continued to just stare at Wolf's silent form. After some time of silence, Sakura assumed that Kaho was not going to answer the question. So, as she stood up with the tray in her hands to set it on the dresser, she was surprised when Kaho finally sighed sadly, looked at her again, and, quietly in a tone Sakura could only describe as regretful, said, "No. I cannot say that I knew his family."

Sakura walked over and set the tray on the dresser. Wanting to know more about the woman who seemed like such an unlikely match for Eriol, she asked, "How did you meet my uncle?"

At this, Kaho actually smiled as she said, "He found me." After a moment, though, a heavy air blanketed over her as she said, "That was, of course, before your father left. He knew about my Clows and I assume that's why he picked me out in the first place."

"How did he know?" Sakura asked, as she walked over to the bed and sat down on the right side of it. She had never really noticed any way to tell if someone had a Clow or not. She wondered if Yelan Li or her grandfather would know.

Kaho sort of half-smiled as she said, "I don't know. I've never asked." She took walked over to the bed, but she moved to the left side, where Wolf actually lay. She sat down in the small empty space by his side, reaching out to place her hand on Wolf's brow for a bare moment. Sakura could read the concern on her face clearly, but there was another darker emotion that she didn't recognize marring Kaho's features.

"Do you know why Wolf…" Sakura started to ask before she realized that she didn't really know how to say what she wanted to ask.

But Kaho seemed to understand anyway, though, for the first time, she looked actually uneasy, turning her gaze back to Sakura. "When we first brought him here, he couldn't bring out his Clows anymore. Eriol…put him through some rough things to try to help him, but…he doesn't let anyone in." Her answer was quiet and spoken as if she was choosing each word she said carefully. In a quiet whisper that Sakura barely heard, she added, "I don't know that he can."

"What do you mean 'rough things'?" Sakura asked.

This time it was clear that Kaho was not going to answer. She turned away from both of them as she stared into the air. "He wasn't always that way," Kaho said finally, but Sakura didn't know if she was talking about Eriol or Wolf.

But she didn't leave and Sakura was still eager to find out more about this family that was turning out to have many more sides than she was expecting. "Ruby told me that Wolf lost his memories," she said, saying the first thing she thought.

"He did not _lose_ them," Kaho said sharply. It was said so sharply and in such different a tone than she had used before that Sakura was shocked speechless for a few seconds. Kaho's gaze had turned slightly hard as she pierced Sakura with her eyes.

"Wh-what?" Sakura finally managed to stutter through her shock.

Kaho turned her head slightly to the side, almost as if she were studying Sakura—though what she was trying to find, Sakura did not know and could not even fathom. "They were _taken_ from him," Kaho clarified finally.

Sakura frowned in confusion. That was clearly an act by a Clow, but she couldn't think of anyone that could take memories. Then again, she simply did not have that much knowledge of the Clows. Finally, unable to contain her curiosity and when it was clear that Kaho was not going to say any more of the subject on her own, Sakura asked, "By who?"

Kaho closed her eyes and took a deep breath with her hands resting stately in her lap. "A man desperate to protect his family," Kaho whispered quietly as she slowly opened her eyes. For a moment, she looked at Wolf again and laid her hand once more upon his brow. There was an unfathomable expression on her face as she gazed at him for a few seconds. She pulled her hand away and lifted her gaze back to Sakura, who couldn't help but be caught in that piercing golden gaze once more. "Perhaps," she said after a few long seconds of silence with the infliction that she was going to say more, but nothing more came from her as she instead pursed her lips together. She stood then and picked up Sakura's tray that she had left on the dresser. "Good luck, Sakura," she said as she left. Sakura thought that was a strange thing for her to say in parting, since she had no idea what Kaho expected her to do or what luck she could possibly need to do it.

She looked at Wolf, who still might as well have been dead he had moved so little. If it wasn't for the steady rise and fall of his chest, Sakura might have thought he had slipped away from them. She just didn't understand, well, _anything_ at the moment. She really liked her aunt and cousin—it seemed nearly impossible that they had anything to do with her uncle. There had to be more to the story—more to why her uncle was the way he was, more to how Wolf came to them, and most certainly just more to Wolf himself.

Frustrated, she fell back onto the pillow but quickly remembered herself as she turned to Wolf. He was, however, undisturbed by what she had done. Rolling to her side, she just lay there and watched him. Memories of the dream Yelan's Clow had given her came once again to the forefront of her mind, most prominently the wolf who had been chained. It was probably safe to assume that the wolf in the dream and this man, Wolf, were meant to be the same thing. And Yelan told her that the wolf might mean someone she was supposed to help.

And he was chained—not perhaps to Eriol, though that might be true—but within himself. She didn't know who or how, but **Windy** said that someone had sealed his heart. And without your heart, how could you _be_ at all?

"Please wake up," she whispered to him. She couldn't help him like this.

Still silence was all that answered.


	8. Intertwining Heartbeats

_Mother…_

The word—which was usually so foreign to him—floated across his thoughts as the first moments of consciousness unfolded in his mind. He couldn't remember what might have stimulated him to think that particular word—if he had a mother, he did not know who she was. The memories of anything beyond living with Eriol Reed were out of his grasp; he had lost them long ago when he had been just four years old. Eriol's wife, Kaho Reed, was the closest person that he could possibly call by that title, but never—not for one single moment—had he ever put Kaho and that word in the same thought.

As the memories of the mission trickled into his thoughts, he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling of his own room. He wondered how many hours he had been unconscious—this had been the first time in a long while that using his Clow had actually knocked him out. Before this, usually the most that had ever happened to him was extreme tiredness for some hours at the very most for the rest of the day. It had only been when he'd first started summoning and practicing with **Void **that he'd fall unconscious, but once he'd gotten control over the Clow, that sort of thing had stopped happening. But then again, he had never used it on an area even remotely that big before.

He lifted his hand to rub his tired eyes but discovered unexpected resistance. He glanced down at his wrist and found an IV inserted into his arm. Puzzled, he stared at it almost inexplicably, unable to understand why it was there.

Suddenly, he heard a soft sigh from beside him. His eyes snapped to the side and found Sakura sleeping beside him on top of the sheets, curled up on her side facing him. His first instinct was to get as far away from her as he possibly could—he had never been so intimately close to anyone in his whole life. But something held him to where he lay, and he stared at her peaceful face.

With his right hand trapped by the IV, he reached out with his left hand and brushed her soft cheek just barely with the back of his fingers. The moment their skin touched, Wolf felt something deep inside him pound, like a resounding painful heartbeat. He heard the word _Master _spoken gently, yet almost uncertainly, in his mind—but it sounded almost like two voices layered on top of one another. The voices sounded familiar, as if from an echo of a forgotten dream.

Shocked, he snatched his hand back away from Sakura, who hadn't stirred an inch from his touch. He turned away from her and threw the covers off himself. Wolf came to his feet and saw that someone—probably the servants—had clothed him in a black sleeveless shirt and cotton pants. He was barefoot, which was not surprising given his current situation.

He wrapped his hand around the IV pole and wheeled it along to the dresser. Crouching down, he pulled open the bottom drawer and reached inside to get a roll of gauze. He ripped off a long strip and put the extra back into the drawer. Grimacing slightly, he slowly pulled the IV from his arm. He knew there was no evidence of the pain he felt on his face—pain was something he'd become familiar with in his term here with Eriol Reed. Once the needle was out, the small hole in his arm immediately started to bleed. He quickly wrapped the gauze tightly around his wrist. Securing the end against his knee, Wolf reached back into the drawer for tape, which he wrapped around the gauze to keep it from slipping until the bleeding stopped.

"Wolf?"

Sakura's voice sounded panicked—he could hear her almost frantic movements on the bed. He grabbed the needle he had set aside as he pushed himself back up to his feet. He set the needle on the dresser top before he turned to look at her. Sakura stood by the corner of the bed with her hand resting around the bed post. Her green eyes were wide as she stared at him, full of what Wolf could only name as disbelief. For almost a full minute, Sakura just stared at him without speaking. Wolf, confused at her silence since she was usually talking almost non-stop to him, furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "What?"

Suddenly, Sakura ran across the room and threw her arms around Wolf's chest, snaking her arms underneath his own in what was unmistakably a hug. The resounding heartbeat pounded deep within him again but was not accompanied by any voices this time. He was so startled by her actions that he could not help but fall back a step as she impacted against him, causing him to bump up against the dresser. "Thanks goodness," she exclaimed and there was blatant relief in her voice. "I was almost starting to believe that you wouldn't ever wake up."

Unsure of what to do, Wolf just stood there without speaking or moving. Almost as suddenly as she came, she practically jumped back away from him. Her face was brightly flushed as she stared at the floor and said quickly, "I'm so sorry. I'm just so relieved that you're okay. You haven't woken in over two days and—"

"Two days?" Wolf interjected unable to mask his surprise for those few moments as he took in that information. He folded his arms across his chest as he let his brows furrow together. He thought he'd only been out for a few hours. The fact that Eriol felt the need to hook him up to an IV suddenly made much more sense to him.

Sakura nodded absently, still looking at the floor. "Yes," she said as her lips pouted out slightly and her eyes glanced warily up at him. "I…well…_we_ were all very worried about you."

Wolf stared at her incomprehensibly—he could not understand why anyone would worry about him. No one ever had before. And he'd never honestly seen any of Reeds worried about anything. The door opened, and Ruby glided into the room balancing a tray in one hand. There was a giant smile on her face as she began in a sing-song voice to say, "Good—Wolf!" she finished cutting herself off as her eyes widened in surprise. For a moment, she stood there frozen, but then a sigh escaped her and her shoulders slumped slightly. There was a look in her eyes that Wolf hadn't seen before—could it actually possibly be _relief_?—but almost immediately she squared her shoulders and her lips curled into a much more familiar smirk. "Father was not pleased that you did not follow his orders," she said as she smoothly slid the tray onto the dresser next to where he was standing. She placed her hands on her hips and stared at him with an infinitely more superior smirk on her lips that he found familiar.

As he straightened up from where he was still slightly leaning against the dresser, Wolf gave no reply having expected Eriol's displeasure from the moment the thought of using **Void** had entered his mind. There hadn't been any question about that at the time. He could not imagine that his being out for two days would have improved his disposition at all. He turned his gaze back to Sakura—what about her had made him even think about it? "Ruby?" Sakura spoke the other woman's name, and she both looked and sounded very confused. Wolf found himself looking at Ruby again to gauge her reaction.

But Ruby ignored her as she kept her gaze on Wolf. "Go," she said firmly. It was only one word, but Wolf understood her command at once. He started to walk towards the door, knowing that since Ruby hadn't told him otherwise, he would find Eriol in his study.

"What? Ruby, no," Sakura broke in as she stepped forward, placing her hand on Wolf's arm. This time there wasn't a reaction to her touch beyond some small warmth in his chest. He said nothing to her, but his gaze did not leave her hand. A moment later it was snatched away, and he allowed his eyes to look up at her face and saw the apology and guilt in it as she mumbled an apology at him. That confused him for a moment, because he hadn't actually minded her touch. Before he could think on that more, Sakura turned back to Ruby and continued, "He just woke up. He needs food and…and…rest! Well, maybe not rest and maybe I don't actually know that much about it, but surely he shouldn't just be walking around after what happened!"

"I'm fine," Wolf interjected dismissively and automatically. He wouldn't allow himself to succumb to such a negligible weakness like hunger or thirst. Those could wait until after he'd seen Eriol.

With a huff, Sakura strode over to the tray of food resting on the dresser. She gripped the glass in her hand and thrust it at him. "Drink this at least," she said. After another moment, her tone softened and she added, "Please."

He glanced down at the cup full of water and back at her gaze so full of worry and concern. He consented by taking the cup in his hand and drinking it quickly. And he wondered if it was possible that her cheerful smile had anything to do with why he felt immediately better. He handed the cup back to her and opened his mouth to say something before he realized he didn't know what to say. So, he closed his mouth again and gave a slight shake of his head. Sakura tilted her head slightly to the side and pierced him with such innocent confusion in her gaze that he almost took a step away from her. Suddenly unable to be in the same room as her, he tightened his jaw and strode past her without another word and out of the room.

She was surprised by his rather abrupt departure, but as the door clicked shut, Sakura turned immediately to Ruby, who avoided her gaze as she grabbed the now empty cup from her hands and said, "I'll go get you some more water."

"Ruby," Sakura said. Ruby paused with her hand on the door handle but didn't say anything. Sakura floundered for a moment, confused on how Ruby's behavior toward Wolf didn't match at all the thinly veiled concern that she had displayed for the past couple of days. "Why?"

Ruby didn't answer, but she didn't leave either. Finally, she sighed and dropped her gaze to the floor. "There's so much that you don't understand and that I can't tell you," she said quietly. "We can't…" She faltered there before continuing, "It's just so…complicated," she finished.

"Why?" Sakura pleaded again because Ruby's answer explained next to nothing to her. She _wanted_ to understand. She _wanted_ to know. But most of all, she _wanted_ to help this family. There was hurt in each of them—even Eriol, as Kaho had hinted slightly.

But it seemed like this wasn't going to happen at that particular moment for this time Ruby really didn't answer at all and left the room without saying anymore, leaving Sakura alone again. Without Wolf to hover over and worry about, she once more was left with nothing to do, just like when she had first arrived. She meandered into her room and looked at the deck of cards that Wolf had given her, still sitting on the table where she left them. Finding that she couldn't think of anything else to do at the moment, she pulled them out, and they took her mind off things for about three minutes before she couldn't concentrate on them any longer.

Sighing heavily, she rested her face in her hands. She needed to talk to someone. Ruby clearly wasn't going to tell her anything. Eriol and Yue were probably completely totally out of the question and while she wasn't completely sure about Kaho, she was inclined to think that she would be the same as her daughter. She needed to know more about what had happened in the past—what it was that she didn't know. Which she was slowly coming to see went far beyond what anyone else had previously told her.

Suddenly, she sat up straight as an idea occurred to her. There _was_ someone she could talk to. In fact, there were _four_ someones. **Windy** had practically told her, before they were interrupted by Ruby bringing lunch and Wolf's unconscious arrival, that she knew something of what was going on and what Sakura could do to help.

So, Sakura called out her Clows. They appeared simultaneously—**Windy** with a gentle smile, **Earthy** with impassive stoic, **Firey** with a cheerful smirk, and **Watery** with serene grace. That is, until **Firey** and **Watery** noticed each other and began to glare at one another. "Please don't," Sakura said to them.

She turned her attention to **Windy** and asked, "What did you mean before about Wolf's heart?"

_As Clows, we have a sense of each other_, **Windy** said in her airy, light voice.

**Earthy**'s deep unwavering voice seemed to rebound through her mind as she said, _But there is only so much we can see_.

_Your destinies are intertwined_, **Firey** interjected boisterously. _There's no doubt about that_.

Sakura blinked at the Clow. "How do you know?" she asked.

_You are our Mistress_, **Earthy** said firmly as if no other reason was needed than that. And perhaps it was true that there was not.

"But…" Sakura frowned as she tried to come up with a way to speak her thoughts. Finally she said, "You tell me I have the power inside me to help him. But how do I use it? What do I do?"

_Do? You don't have to_ do _anything_, **Watery** said emphatically and with some exasperation.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, almost throwing her arms up into the air and deciding that her Clows were being decidedly unhelpful.

_Just stay near him_, **Windy** said, placing her tiny hand on Sakura's cheek. _That is all you have to do. Just be with him and be yourself._

* * *

><p>There was an anxious air within the room. Feimei leaned against the arm of the couch with her chin resting pensively in her hand. She had come to this room that morning, expecting to find her mother sitting in it drinking tea as she did every morning. She'd gone immediately to Wei, but the faithful man had not seen Yelan that morning. Yelan's personal maid was called from whom they learned Yelan had woken earlier than usual, gotten dressed, and went out. A cursory search of the house and grounds was made, but they were unsuccessful in locating her mother.<p>

Knowing that she would come back only when she wanted to, Feimei returned to her mother's sitting room to wait for Yelan to arrive. Only, when she arrived, she had found Fujitaka and his family waiting. Doing the only thing she could think of, Feimei assured them that Yelan would join them shortly. Hoping that she was right, Feimei had sat down on the couch, but as the minutes passed, the tension built as Yelan did not appear.

At last, nearly half an hour later, the door opened and Yelan walked into the room. Wei was close behind her with a tray of tea in his hands. Never to be rushed, Yelan sat with slow grace and accepted Wei's offer of her teacup. Calmly, she took a small sip of the drink.

"Well?" Toya finally bit out—every bit of his impatience and frustration apparent in that word.

There was a moment's pause while Yelan let the cup down from her lips and set it on the table in front of her. "I believe Sakura is safe for the time being," she said.

Fujitaka, Nadeshiko, and Tomoyo all let out audible sighs of relief, but Toya actually became tenser. His arms folded across his chest, and he narrowed his eyes in Yelan's direction. "What do you mean 'for the time being'?" he asked. The others in his family glanced at him, looking somewhere between worried and exasperated.

"I do not know Eriol Reed personally," Yelan said, barely giving the man a glance of her eyes. "But I am sure she will be safe long enough."

"Long enough for what?" Tomoyo asked, tilting her head slightly.

This time Yelan did not immediately answer, but Feimei noticed at last a certain almost_ peace_ about her that Feimei had not seen in a long time. "Mother, where were you this morning?" she asked suddenly as she sat up straighter.

Yelan looked at her, an actual small _smile_ on her lips, as she answered, "I went to Syaoran's…grave." She frowned slightly at that last word, but Feimei did not bother with thinking about what that could mean as she gasped loudly. Not only had her mother _said his name_, she'd been to the one place on the whole _planet_ she avoided at all times. Feimei didn't even bother to_ think_ about looking there that morning. No one had.

"Feimei," Yelan said, but then she pursed her lips and cut off her own words. Instead, she looked at the Amamiyas and said, "There is something I must see. Something I must know. But I have to wait nearly three weeks to find it. You are welcome to stay here or return to Japan in the interim, but at the end of that time, if I am right, I will help you get Sakura back. But not a moment sooner."

The four of them turned to each other and then held a quick conference that mostly consisted of Fujitaka and Nadeshiko whispering to the other two and Toya tersely shaking his head a lot. Finally, Toya folded his arms across his chest again and nodded slowly. It was Nadeshiko who turned back and said to Yelan, "If you are sure it won't bother you, we'll stay here until you're ready."

Yelan nodded and said, "Very well. Feel free to go anywhere in the house and grounds. If you wish to go out to the city, let any one of the servants know and they will have a car prepared for you."

It was clear that there was a dismissal in her words, so it was no surprise when Fujitaka smiled and said, "Thank you," before he led his family out.

Feimei waited for a few quiet minutes before she said, "Mother?"

"I think the truth was not quite what I expected," Yelan cryptically answered. "I scarcely allow myself to hope, but I must know the real answer, whatever that may be."


	9. Finding the Truths

Wolf did not understand her. And that, in turn, made him unable to understand himself—at least as far as she was concerned.

Nearly three weeks had passed since he had woken up that day after using his Clow. Since he had woken up, Eriol had allowed Sakura anywhere in the house and grounds as long as Wolf was with her wherever she went.

And it didn't seem to matter to her how much distance he tried to keep between them, Sakura seemed to always bounce right back to him. It had started out slowly—nothing more than her usual smiles and chattering, but all that was interspersed with small touches—her hand on his arm to gain his attention or taking his hand briefly to turn him in a certain direction while they were outside.

Soon, they all came more and more frequently, almost overwhelming him, but that was strange in itself because he had never felt overwhelmed before. In fact, he had never felt _anything_ before. He hadn't known why, but though he had, of course, heard of all the emotions, he had never experienced them himself. He knew this and he knew that Eriol knew it—the man had been the one to figure it out first.

He remembered the day that Eriol had finally noticed it—the curious expression of confusion mixed almost with delight on his face. But Wolf suddenly found himself feeling twinges within himself since that day he had woken up, especially when he was around Sakura. He couldn't explain it—he had no experience with which to name the twinges. He only knew that he had felt a flash of what felt like fire inside him when Eriol instructed him to leave on a mission or the slight what could only be described as a _lift_ in his chest half the time that Sakura smiled at him.

There had been nothing like those painful poundings inside him that he had felt that first day, but sometimes he felt like something was cracking inside him when she got really close, like last night when she had suddenly hugged him before escaping into her room to sleep.

"Wolf?"

Her voice filtered into his thoughts, bringing him back to the present. She was staring at him with her sparkling green eyes, now wide with concern—concern for _him_, though no one had bothered with that before. She was kneeling in front of a bank of flowers. She always wanted him to bring her out to the garden, spending as much time in it as she possibly could. Some days she would sit and talk to him about her life before this—her family, her friends, her classes at the university, or just small anecdotes about her everyday life. Other days, she was quieter as she would study each and every flower with care.

"Yes?" he said in reply.

Sakura's smile was quick and bright and easy as it blossomed on her face. She gave him a small shake of her head and a shrug as she said, "Nothing really. You just seemed to be kind of spacing out there for a bit."

Wolf had no reply for that, so he said nothing. He felt—how strange it was still to even _think_ that word—something else new; something he had not experience before. Was it possible that this was what _surprise_ felt like? After all, no one had accused him of "spacing out" before as he had always been vigilant in everything that he did.

But it was clear that Sakura had not really been expecting an answer—she was probably used to his silence by now as he never said very much to her—as she turned her gaze back to the flowers with a smaller smile on her face and continued to speak. "Did I ever tell you that my mother's Clow is **Flower**?" she asked.

Wolf did not remember her mentioning such a thing, but he supposed that it made sense due to the fact that she loved to be out in the garden. It was something she had probably done with her mother a lot. "No," he replied succinctly.

Sakura nodded absently as she fingered a flower with small pink petals. "She was named after a flower, just like me. My aunt Sonomi once told me that my mother had always known that if she was going to have a little girl, she would name her Sakura. So, here I am!" she finished with her wide, bright grin again. And Wolf felt the _lift_ within his chest again.

But it slowly slid off her face as she looked back at the flower again and brushed her finger against its petals. Wolf narrowed his eyes at her because she had not looked that lost and melancholy since the first few days of her confinement. However, he knew neither what thought had suddenly befallen her nor what he could do about it.

Suddenly, she giggled and pushed herself back up to her, looking like her normal self again. "Well, we should be getting back inside. It's almost dinner time and—" She cut off all of the sudden and looked down at her arm, her jaw dropping and her eyes widening in what even Wolf could identify as shock.

Wolf looked down as well and found that it was _his own_ _hand_ that had gripped her arm, stopping her from moving any further. For a moment, both of them just stood there looking at the scene for it was the first time that Wolf had ever initiated contact between them. Abruptly, Wolf ripped his hand away from her arm and folded it across his chest with his other arm. He understood himself less and less it seemed the more time he spent with her. All he had known his whole life was the empty void of nothing—there was no need for anything else as he learned to use his Clow and to work for Eriol. He had no idea what had caused him to reach out to her.

"Wolf?" she asked as he turned his gaze away from her. He could feel the soft touch of her fingertips brushing across his arm. When he said nothing, he felt her grip slightly tighter on his arm; it was nothing that she hadn't done before. But then she reached her free hand up to his cheek and gently pushed his face to force him to look at her—something tightened within him as she did so and he knew it was because she had never touched his face before.

As their gazes met, he knew that she had said his name again in that same concerned questioning tone, but all he was aware of was once again the sound and feel of a painful heartbeat within him. This one was accompanied by the soft whisper of women's voices, like the first one had been. They spoke in such a quiet hushed tone that he couldn't make out what they had said. In that moment, it was almost as if the world itself had faded away and he was aware of nothing more than the whisper within him and Sakura's gaze.

But it abruptly stopped as the world came back after a moment. Wolf stepped back out of her hands and she let them slip back down to her side. He was aware of the drop in her shoulders and her crestfallen expression, knowing there was something that he had done wrong—but the brief stint of emotions was over. Though he was aware of the fact that he had caused those down feelings in Sakura, he no longer felt anything once more.

"You looked sad," he said briefly in explanation of why he had reached out to stop her.

She perked up slightly at his words, unaware that he had nothing else for her. She laughed softly as she gazed up at the sky for a second before nodding her head at him. "Yeah," she said slowly. "I was just thinking, you know, wondering if I was ever going to see them again." Her smile remained, but even Wolf could see the sadness that now rested in her eyes. "I want to keep my promise to Eriol and I want…" She trailed off as she bit her bottom lip and lowered her gaze to the ground. After a moment of apparent indecision, she lifted her gaze, her eyes blazing with determination, "And I want to stay with you, Wolf."

And Wolf, who thought he had nothing left to give her, found a sliver of a reaction within him at her words. "Why?" he asked her, not knowing where the question came from.

"Because I care about you," she said easily. "You're my friend and I want to help you. I know…" she faltered as she almost reached out her hand to him but stopped. "I know that something happened to you. I don't know what it was, but I just feel like I can heal you. That I _have _to heal you. I can't really explain it more than that," she finished with a small shrug.

She stepped closer to him, until they could have been touching each other if either one of them leaned even the slightest bit towards each other, but there she stopped. "Will you let me help you?" she whispered with her wide genuine and innocent eyes.

Wolf found himself unable to answer, bound by her gaze once again. For now he saw something else in her eyes, something that he did not recognized, but somehow he knew that it was echoed and resonated in himself. He did not know, could not fathom, how this one person—this one girl—could enter his life and somehow change everything about himself that he thought he knew. Almost unaware of what he was doing, he felt his lips open and heard his own voice quietly say in reply, "Yes."

* * *

><p>She breathed in deeply as she looked up out into the night. The world was all aglow and bathed in the light from the full moon that hung in the sky, clearly visibly in the clear sky. There was not a cloud in sight to obscure even a single spot of that pale white light.<p>

Now, it was time at last to use her Clow.

Yelan stepped back into her room and slid the door shut behind her, blocking out the celestial light. On that first day after her dream, she had found it far too easy to believe that it might be possible for him to still be alive, but in the time since then she had schooled herself back into pushing that hope away as much as she possibly could. She did not think that she could survive if she turned out to be wrong.

She was alone in her room, dressed in her clothes still. She knew that she would not sleep this night—though the amount of time she wanted to see did not equal the amount of hours still left in the night, her Clow would still use up the rest of the hours of the night and quite possibly some time into the morning. It was the same thing with **Dream**—though those visions might be short, she was never aware of more than the time the dream took.

She laid a cushion down on the center of her carpet, away from any of the other furniture. She knelt onto it, closing her eyes as she summoned her Clow. Though she could not see it, she knew that her Clow was a young female dressed in a long robe holding a blue clock. "**Return**," she said softly.

She did not feel anything other than a soft whirl of wind around her. She opened her eyes and knew that she had arrived exactly when she wanted to be, evident by the golden sheen of the world, exactly as it had been that night.

Yelan was unaffected by **Time** as she might normally have been as she was not really there. She was merely a spectator in the events around her, unable to change or affect anything around her. Her body was, in actuality, still kneeling on that cushion in her room in her own time—Wei would make sure that no one would disturb her, as that might cause her to come back to herself before she was ready to go. She had to remain long enough to see what had happened.

Quickly, she went immediately to Syaoran's room, walking through walls as they also did not affect her as she was. She arrived there shortly, as he was only a few rooms down the hall from her bedroom. Her past self and her husband were in the room that had become her tea room in the present. When she entered, she breathed a sigh of relief when she found him sleeping peacefully on his bed—she was not too late to see what happened. Tears sprung into the corners of her eyes as she watched him, just as she had seen him that night when she put him to bed.

Only a few seconds passed before two people—a grown man and a girl somewhere in her preteen years—entered the room hand in hand through one of the walls. Yelan saw the Clow **Through** hovering over the man's shoulder, which would be how they walked through walls. They walked over to the bed and the girl said, "Oh, Father, he's so cute and adorable."

Yelan had a flash of possessive anger splice through her at the girl's words, but she could do nothing about it. "Ruby, that's not really important," the man said to her and Yelan perked up. Now, she at least knew one of their names.

"Sorry, Father," Ruby said not sounding like it at all. Both of them froze visibly when the sheets started rustling as they all looked back at Syaoran. "Father, he's not frozen," Ruby added sounding really shocked.

Syaoran sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily, and Yelan felt a rush of affection. She would have given everything in that moment to be able to gather him in her arms. His hand fell and his expression turned very stern—not unlike her own she noted with a small amount of pride—as he noticed his two unwelcome visitors. "Who are you? You don't belong here," he said in that same serious and authoritative voice she'd heard him use with Meilin all the time. **Light** and **Dark** appeared next to him and they fixed Ruby and her father with glares like ice.

The man suddenly chuckled softly as he reached into his pocket. He took out a small white cloth. "Do it now, Ruby," he ordered as he swiftly closed the distance between himself and Syaoran—just as her son was beginning to say, "**Da**—" but was cut off as the man covered his small mouth with the cloth. **Light** and **Dark** buzzed angrily around their master, helpless to give assistance without their names being uttered. They disappeared as Syaoran's little body went limp and his eyes slowly closed—whatever had been on that cloth (probably some type of anesthesia) had taken effect. The man caught him in his arms as he pulled the cloth slowly away. Yelan could see his small chest rising and falling steadily, so she knew Syaoran was not dead at this point.

"All right, Father," Ruby answered and she even sounded a little bit reluctant to Yelan. A Clow appeared in front of her and Yelan gasped as she recognized it. It was very distinctive as it was the only Clow that had two bodies—two childlike bodies donned in yellow clown-like outfits, one with a blue tuft of hair on its forehead and the other with a pink. It was the Clow **Twin**. And Yelan had a sort of horrific certainty that she knew what had happened now—and all she could do was stand here and watch as it played out.

The man laid the unconscious Syaoran on the bed and turned to the girl. "Remember," he said. "A _lifeless_ copy."

"I _know_, Father," Ruby said with an exasperated tone that Yelan could hear and a roll of her eyes. "**Twin**!" she called out to activate its powers. **Twin** hopped over Syaoran and landed on his stomach. A moment later, there was another Syaoran lying on the bed next to her own son. This one's eyes were open and glazed over—just as she remembered finding him all those years ago. The man lifted up the copy's arm and let it drop, nodding his head.

"Good job, Ruby," he said as he picked up the copy and laid it on the floor. **Twin** disappeared as he then picked up the real Syaoran, slung the child over his shoulder, and grabbed Ruby's hand again. He called out **Through**'s name again to activate its powers, and they left the same way they had come. Yelan followed, determined to see this to the end. They ran all the way outside to where a tall woman waited for them, **Time** hovering in front of her—this must be his partner. **Through** disappeared and then **Fly** appeared in front of the man. It transformed into a giant bird, which the group climbed onto before the golden sheen to the world disappeared as **Time** did. And Yelan could only stand there and watch as they took her son—her _living_ son—away.


	10. Safe

Feimei flipped idly through a magazine, early in the morning, wishing that something exciting would happen—or at the very least, wishing that that scrumptious Toya would walk into the room. As she reached the end of the magazine she set it down, blowing air out of her lips. She decided to go and find Tomoyo—the two of them had strung up a rather good friendship during the time the younger woman had stayed here.

Suddenly, the door was flung open before she could even stand up and Feimei looked up with surprise to find her mother standing there in the doorway. Her mother usually acted with grace and decorum at all times—she did not normally go around flinging doors open. But then Feimei noticed her mother's face was rather a bit paler than it normally was and she was breathing in and out deeply, as if she had just run a great distance which was something else that her mother normally did not do. Yet, there was a sense of wonder in her eyes that Feimei had not seen there in a long time.

"Mother, are you alright," Feimei asked as she came hastily to her feet.

Yelan took a few steps into the room before she gracefully and slowly fell to the floor on her knees, whispering what Feimei thought sounded like "Syaoran" but it simply could not have been that as Feimei had not heard her mother say her brother's name since he died. Alarmed, Feimei raced over to her mother and crouched down in front of her. "Are you alright," Feimei asked again. "Should I go get Wei?"

Her mother grasped her arm in a vice-grip—Feimei was shocked by the strength of it. "Syaoran is alive," Yelan said quietly.

Many emotions flashed through Feimei at that—disbelief, worry, and hope to name a few—but there was such a certainty and a happiness in that tone that Feimei had not heard in her mother in so long. "Alive?" she repeated, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Yes," Yelan said. "They took him…used **Twin** to make a copy…but my baby, _my son…_" she trailed off and she looked into Feimei's eyes and to her very great surprise, Yelan's lips were formed into a smile—not a small smile or a smirk or anything else, but an actual true and wonderfully happy smile. "Syaoran is alive, Feimei," she repeated almost breathlessly.

Feimei's mind whirled as she took that in—he would be a man now, twenty-one years old, probably just as serious as ever though…so many things they had missed out on…and Father…neither one would know about the other. "But why didn't he ever come home?" she asked. "He has two of the strongest Clows in existence; he should have been able to come back to us by now!"

Yelan stiffened at those words and her back straightened—much more like her normal self, Feimei noted with some relief. "I'm not sure," she said but she said it in such a tone that gave Feimei the feeling that she might, however, have an idea. "But we have to find him."

* * *

><p>Eriol stepped up to the window of his study, making sure to stay far enough back that he would be practically invisible to those standing outside. Wolf and Sakura were outside in the garden. After the incident with Wolf, he'd given her free reign of most of the house and grounds on the provision that Wolf was with her wherever she went. He did this mostly because he was curious at what she would do. To his surprise, she seemed extremely pleased with not only her new boundaries but also his choice of escort.<p>

It baffled him to no end that she was actually keeping her word and remaining here. He was sure if their positions had been reversed, he would have used all the powers at his disposal to escape at the first opportunity.

Yet, here she was nearly a month later and showing no signs of wanting to leave anytime soon.

With a frown on his face, he crossed his arms in front of his chest as he watched them. He had noticed the change in Wolf in the past few weeks—it was barely noticeable, but Eriol could tell. Before Sakura arrived, Wolf had been completely emotionless—there was no happiness, no fear, no anger—absolutely nothing that could be called an emotion within him at all. But now, there were the smallest traces of emotions appearing here and there. It was nothing big, nothing anyone else might even notice. Yet, Eriol could see it in the slight downturn of Wolf's lips when Eriol ordered him out on a mission or the flash of something in his eyes when Eriol came to speak with Sakura.

But this, what he observed outside his window now, was something else entirely. Sakura was speaking to him—Eriol couldn't hear what she was saying—but the expression on Wolf's face was something he could not ignore. It wasn't that the boy was smiling or anything so drastically different, but there was a sort of _relaxed_ expression on his face. He wondered if it was possible that something within Sakura was reaching something in Wolf—awakening the long buried emotions that had disappeared from the boy.

For he hadn't always been that way—not even when he had first arrived here. Eriol slipped back into the memories of that day as he watched them.

_Eriol stared at the small boy, whom they had kept unconscious the entire trip home. "What are you going to do now?" Kaho asked him._

"_He's too old to completely forget on his own and we can't risk him using his Clows against us," Eriol replied. "So I will have to make him forget." His third Clow appeared next to him. It was a small woman with short hair, wearing a checkered jester-like outfit with a large two pointed hat. A large white ruffle was around her neck and just below it on her chest was a red oval jewel. She held a white cloth between her hands. "__**Erase**__," Eriol said._

**_Erase_**_ turned into a cloud of grayish fog and floated over to the small boy, blanketing him for less than a minute before she returned to her humanoid form. She gave a small bow to Eriol before she disappeared again. Eriol looked at Kaho, who looked sadly down at the boy. "What are you thinking, Kaho?" he asked as he stood up to leave the room. They could do nothing more until he woke up._

_Kaho shook her head. "It is nothing, Eriol," she said. "I will send for you when he wakes up."_

It was hours later that he was informed the boy had woken up at last. When he walked into the room, he found the boy sitting up with a very solemn look on his face and resisted the urge to chuckle. He was so very much a Li—he had noted that the moment the boy had used that tone with him back at the Li home. Kaho sat quietly in a chair, quietly observing the situation. Eriol walked over and sat down next to the boy. It was then that he told the boy his name was Wolf—never again would the name Syaoran be mentioned in the boy's presence. He told him of the Clows…told him that he was part of the Reed Clan…told him that the Li Dynasty were their enemies…told him—_lied to him_—about how he had lost his memories. He told Wolf that there had been an accident.

In the days that followed, Eriol had tried everything to get Wolf to bring out **Light** and **Dark** but each failed miserably. It got to the point of near torturing the boy into it—he was so desperate to have the power under his control. And what answered him was a power that he had not expected—the **Void**—one that he was never sure was ever under control.

However, on that day that **Void** answered the boy, Wolf had completely shut down. It had surprised them all to watch him shut down and blank out; to deliver fatal blows with his Clows with no change of expression at all. But now, there was that definite change in him and Eriol did not like not knowing what that meant.

But as long as he had the boy, he knew that his family, at least, was safe.

* * *

><p>Yelan was impatient. It was a rather unfamiliar emotion for her—growing up she had learned how to remain calm and composed at all times. But now, here she was standing in her tea room, barely managing to restrain herself from drumming her fingers on the chair she was resting her hand on or tapping her foot against the floor as she waited for Wei to bring the Kinomotos to her and Feimei. Meilin was also in the room, having been summoned first. Besides a brief questioning look at Feimei, who had only answered with a smile, the young woman gave no other indication that she wondered or cared why she was there at all.<p>

Yelan allowed herself a small smile because she knew that would soon change.

At long last, the door opened and they walked in. The young lady, Tomoyo, led the way in behind Wei, looking almost completely composed. There was just the small shade of apprehension and worry that had been on her looks since she arrived betrayed on her graceful expression. She gave Feimei an honestly happy smile of greeting as she saw the older woman, which Feimei exchanged in kind. Yelan was aware of the friendship the two had formed during the Kinomotos' stay in her home.

Close at Tomoyo's heels, Toya entered with his jaw locked into a frown and his arms folded loosely across his chest. Unlike Tomoyo, he displayed his worry at the situation with his sister forcefully on his face, looking as if he was always ready to take on some enemy in her defense. After their son and niece, Fujitaka and Nadeshiko came in with her arm wrapped elegantly around his own. The two parents looked as Tomoyo did rather than Toya—only faintly worried around their very edges. There was absolutely no missing the love between the two, even as they smiled their greeting at her.

Yelan wanted to wait for everyone to settle themselves around the room before she spoke, but it turned out that she was not the one to break in the conversation at all. "What's this about?" Toya demanded with his eyebrows furrowed deeply before she could even say anything.

Yelan frowned minutely in annoyance—the boy had really been nothing but ungracious his entire stay here. She supposed it was understandable as he had to be worried about his sister. And she did get the impression that he was actually a nice man, excepting any area that involved Sakura being in danger of any sort.

Still, she did not take kindly to being spoken to like that. She raised her chin ever so slightly to say something to him, but she was interrupted in her attempt once again.

His mother placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Please, Toya," was all Nadeshiko had to say before her son looked away awkwardly—now there was a small amount of shame mixed in his expression, but he said nothing more, as Yelan suspected he was just a little bit too much stubborn to actually apologize.

"Please tell us what you have discovered," Fujitaka said kindly, as he did everything else.

Yelan looked down at the floor for just a moment before she tapped her finger on the back of the chair—just once—as she gathered her thoughts. She looked at Meilin briefly, moved her gaze to Feimei (who merely nodded at her) before turning finally settling on the Kinomotos as she began to speak, "Three weeks ago, the vision I received from **Dream** caused me to think that perhaps something I had thought to be true for a long time may have been in actuality a farce to mislead me."

She pressed her lips firmly together as she paused there, berating herself again for allowing it to be so. It had been her fault. If only…she mentally shook her head. There was no more time for regrets or what might have been. She continued to speak, "I asked for your patience because I could not find out the truth until last night. My second Clow, **Return**, allows me to be witness to any past even that I so choose, but it can only be used on a night when the moon is full. And I confirmed that I had indeed been tricked. My son, Syaoran, was not in fact killed that night seventeen years ago."

A loud (but expected) gasp accompanied by the sound of a crashing chair reverberated through the room as Meilin came abruptly to her feet. "What?" she said in an incredulous tone of voice. Her eyes were shining and her expression was part disbelief, part anger, and part hopeful. "It can't…really?" Her voice was so small and quiet at that last word, as if she could scarcely allow herself to believe Yelan's words.

"Yes," Yelan responded firmly, leaving no room for argument. "I used my Clow to see the events that happened the night we thought he was killed. Two people, a man and a girl, entered his room. They knocked Syaoran unconscious, and then the girl used **Twin** to make a lifeless copy of my son. It was quite the clever trick, as otherwise an organic being made by **Twin** would eventually fade." She stopped speaking as she remembered the horrible reality she had thought of while waiting for everyone to arrive. A tightness squeezed her expression as she looked at her daughter and niece. "I cannot say for certain that he remains alive today, but I _am_ certain that he was alive when the man took him away. However, it is hard to believe that they would go to all that trouble only to take his life at a later time." Both Meilin and Feimei nodded, showing their understanding of Yelan's words with their expressions.

Suddenly, Fujitaka spoke up, drawing everyone's attention with his words. "Describe the man to me," he said quietly but almost urgently. Yelan did as he asked, watching as a sad frown grew ever more present on his face as she did so. He nodded when she finished. "I can't be completely positive because I did not see him myself, but I believe it was my brother, Eriol Reed."

Yelan nodded her head in acceptance as her shoulders slumped just slightly in resignation. "Then, as I suspected, it was the Reed Clan that did this," she said softly. A fire rose within her—she felt as if she could kill the man that had done this to her son, to her family.

"Yes," Fujitaka agreed also looking resigned, and Yelan remembered that now her family was not the only one that had been hurt by the Reed Clan. It had taken her son from her and now it had taken the Kinomotos' daughter from them as well.

Yelan took all of about one second to make her decision on what she should do now. "Wei," she said to the man, who had remained in the room, ever ready to serve her. She noted that the man's smiled was just a little bit wider than it might have normally been. Having served the Li Dynasty for so long, he had been the one placed in charge of Syaoran (and by extension, Meilin) when the boy had been born. Clearly, her family members were not the only ones to be happy about his possible return. "Contact the airport," she ordered. "I want my plane prepared as soon as possible."

"Yes, my Lady," Wei instantly replied as he bowed himself out the door.

Knowing that she only knew three of the Clows currently in possession by the Reed Clan, she was going to have to have all the Clows at her disposal as she possibly could. She looked at her daughter and said, "Feimei, contact your sisters and have them meet us either at the airport or London." She knew that Shiefa was currently at the Hong Kong building, running the operations of their company here, but both of the twins were already in Europe at their two offices there. And while Shiefa did not have a Clow herself, Yelan did not even think of leaving her oldest daughter out of going to get Syaoran. "Quickly, I plan to leave within the hour if possible," she added.

Feimei came to her feet quickly and left the room with Meilin close on her heels. "What are you doing?" Toya asked suddenly, startling Yelan just slightly as she had allowed her mind to wander for just a moment, wondering if there was anything else she needed to do. And, truthfully, now that she had come to a decision and had all the information that she needed, she had almost forgotten that the Kinomotos were there at all.

She allowed the fire of rage within her burn plainly in her eyes at them. "If England is where my son is, then that is where I will go," she said resolutely. "I will bring him back, even if I have to lay waste to the entire city. So I suggest you hurry," she finished as she pierced them with her gaze.

They all looked slightly taken aback by this abrupt order. "Why?" Tomoyo asked.

Yelan arched her eyebrow at them as she asked, "You want Sakura back, correct?" She waited for their almost simultaneously nod before she said, "You may come if you choose, but be warned that I will not wait for you."

The Kinomotos exchanged glances for only half a second, before Toya, with an actual grin on his face (though the happiness of the grin was almost overcome by the complete fierceness his expression showed), assured her, "We'll come."

"You have ten minutes."


	11. Confliction and Confusion

Every Clow Bearer in the world was now in the same city at the same time. It was an event that had not happened in such a long time that Meilin might have taken a moment to wonder at it, if it wasn't for the reason behind why they were all here in the first place.

Syaoran was alive.

The thought which had replayed over and over in her mind since she first found out was so overwhelming and all-consuming that nothing else could take its place.

_Syaoran was alive_.

Meilin didn't think that was an idea that she could ever get tired of saying. And soon…_soon_ she would see him. They were driving through the streets of London, separated into four sleek black town cars Yelan had rented. Meilin was in the same car as her aunt and Misaki Amamiya. Along with the twins, Fuutie and Fanren, the rest of the Amamiya family and the Clow Bearer they sheltered had met them at the London airport, intent on joining their assault on the Reed Clan.

Soon, the buildings on one side of the street gave way to a tall grey wall that reminded Meilin of the walls of their home in Hong Kong. On the top of the wall were wrought iron spikes, a clear indication that the people who lived there were not looking for visitors. Meilin doubted that anyone alive could jump that wall alone because, of course, her mother could have with her Clow, **Jump**. Unfortunately, her mother had never quite recovered from Meilin's difficult birth before being hit with a series of ever increasingly worse cases of pneumonia that had caused her to lose her life when Meilin was barely six years old.

Then, once her father basically abandoned her at her Aunt Yelan's when he jumped at the chance to work at the American branch of their company, it had just been too many losses in a row for the young Meilin. She had found it so hard to reach out to others after that. She spent a nominal amount of time with her cousins, but they had just been too much older than her and dealing with their own family falling apart. So, Meilin had turned to her Clow and spent much of her time training with her. But that was all different now.

Because Syaoran was alive.

Soon, the wall turned into a black iron gate that Meilin recognized from her previous visit with Sakura. Meilin threw open the car door before it had even fully stopped and started racing towards the guard box to the side of the gate. The guard inside stepped out and began to protest, but Meilin quickly knocked him out with a few well placed punches before he could get out much more than two words. Behind her, the cars slid to a stop and as Yelan stepped out she said, "Good work, Meilin."

As the rest of the group piled out of the cars and gathered around the front of the gate, Toya asked, "Now what?"

"We must assume that they know we are here," Yelan answered succinctly. "That guard could have alerted them before he came out." She was silent for a moment before she said, "Fanren. Fuutie. We need cover. Make sure the city does not realize we are here. It is best that we continue the secret of the Clows. But I will not hesitate," she added quietly at the end. Her gaze was steely as she stared at the far mansion in front of him, and Meilin got the feeling that those words were not for anyone present.

Meanwhile, her twin daughters nodded and said, "Yes, Mother." They called out their Clows, **Rain** and **Cloud**, which were nearly identical in their looks and twins themselves. They were young girls and rode on clouds but **Rain** was light blue in color while **Cloud** was light lavender. **Rain** had a blue teardrop shaped jewel resting on her forehead underneath her jester's hat, but **Cloud**'s jewel was an oval and her head was covered in fluffy hair.

Fanren and Fuutie called out their names at the same moment. The Clows flew up into the sky, and except for the land that belonged to the Reed Clan, great purple clouds began to form in what had actually been a clear sky that day. The sunlight was completely obscured and a heavy rain began to fall down while a thick fog rolled in over the land where the clouds blocked the sky. Now, unless someone was in the immediate area surrounding the mansion, they would not be able to see what was going on.

Yelan gazed about approvingly. "Keep it up as long as you can," she instructed her daughters, who only nodded in response as their attention was on the sky above them. Yelan looked up and down the group and imperiously ordered, "Non-combatants remain here. Meilin, the gate, if you please."

Meilin raised her chin and called out her Clow. **Fight** appeared in front of her, and once Meilin called out her name, the Clow shrunk into a dot of light that flew right into Meilin and merged with her. Though she could not see it, she knew now that her eyes were a glowing pale blue, as they always were when **Fight** combined her powers with her. She strode up to the gate and kicked at it, but even with their combined strength, the gate remained steadfast. Meilin began yelling incoherently as she kicked at it again.

"Please, if I may be allowed to help?"

Meilin turned to look at who had spoken and found that it had been the sophisticated young woman who had come with the Amamiya Family. Meilin could not remember her name at the moment (she thought it might have started with an "R"), but at her shoulder hovered the Clow **Power**. Once she saw that, Meilin nodded and the woman said, "**Power**." The diminutive Clow flew over to Meilin and landed on the top of her head. Meilin could feel the rush of strength that flooded her from the Clow. Grinning, she kicked at the gate one more this time with quite a different ending than the previous two times she had tried.

The gate went exploding in on its hinges and both sides of the gates flew into the yard coming to rest quite a ways away from the entrance.

The stunned silence that followed was broken by a bark of a laugh from Toya as he said, "Let's go." Meilin and Feimei led the group in as they had the strongest offensive Clows of the group. Meilin did not stop as she ran across the yard to see who had followed them and who had remained behind.

There was only a whisp of sound that gave a small warning, but it was enough that Meilin yelled, "Down!" to the rest of the group as a volley of arrows shot at them.

"**Wood**!" she heard a deep voice saying—she thought it might have been the elder head of the Amamiyas. Vines sprung instantly from the ground in front of them, catching most of the arrows within their grasp. Once the arrows were stopped, the vines crumbled to the earth, allowing the group to move forward and giving them a view of the four people standing right in front of the house. One of the men matched the description of Eriol Reed, while the other, who had long silver hair, was the one with the bow in his hand and most likely the one that had shot at them. Just behind him, Meilin could make out the Clow, **Arrow**.

The two women looked similar with nearly the same color of long hair. Neither they nor Eriol appeared to have called out their Clows yet. There was no sign of Sakura or Syaoran. "I think they know we're here," Meilin heard Fujitaka said almost jovially.

Before anyone could say anymore, another storm of arrows started flying towards them. "**Mirror**!" This time, it was Toya's voice who called the name of a Clow and Meilin turned to see his Clow, who was a light-green tinted girl with long flowing hair wearing a hanfu. On her forehead were three blue shapes that gave the appearance of making a triangle. The mirror she held in her hands shone flashed brightly, and then the arrows that had been heading towards their group, were suddenly turned and flying back towards the Reed Clan.

However, a Clow appeared at Eriol's side and he said, "**Erase**." Instantly, the Clow melted into a cloud of grey and covered the air in front of where they were standing. As the arrows entered the cloud, they simply disappeared as if they had never existed.

"Feimei!" Yelan called out.

"Right," Feimei said from beside Meilin as she, too, called out her Clow. Feimei's Clow appeared similar to **Rain** and **Cloud**, except that its clothes appeared more like armor and its hair was in ringlets around its head. "**Storm**," Feimei said. **Storm** flew up into the sky, just as the other two Clows had done, but this time a funnel cloud fell quickly from the clouds above as the wind picked up around them. Meilin held up her arms to block her face as the swirling powerful tornado moved its way towards the Reed Clan.

She watched, however, from between her squinted eyelids when another Clow appeared at the older woman's shoulder, this one appearing like a fish made out of ice. "**Freeze**," the woman said. The fish-like Clow's eyes flashed and **Storm**'s tornado turned into a giant tower of ice.

Eriol grinned smugly as he once again said, "**Erase**." His Clow again became a cloud of gray and covered the tower, causing it to disappear. Meilin growled in frustration, as it seemed that they were getting nowhere really in this fight, but she really had only one question that was pounding inside her head.

Where was Syaoran?

* * *

><p>Sakura shuddered as another explosion of sound rocked through the house. "Please, can we go outside?" she pleaded once again to Wolf, who stood leaning up against the wall of his room, staring at the door to the hallway.<p>

"No," Wolf said—his reply was the same as the other five times she had asked since Eriol had come in and ordered Wolf to keep her in their rooms before leaving without so much as an explanation. It had only been a few minutes later that the sounds had started—it _literally_ sounded like a battle was going on outside. And Sakura had to admit that it was quite possible that there _was_ a battle going on outside. Perhaps her family had come to retrieve her at last.

She glanced sideways at Wolf and pouted out her lips. As much as she liked Wolf now and as much as she knew that there was something she was supposed to do that involved him, she couldn't just let anyone in her family get hurt trying to save her. So, she was going to have to take some matters into her own hands. "I'm sorry, Wolf," she said quietly.

"What?"

Quickly, Sakura called out two of her Clows and said, "**Earthy**! **Firey**!" The ground around one wall burst up and down, leaving a gaping hole for Sakura to escape out of as a wall of flame burst up in between her and Wolf. As fast as she could, she slipped out of the house and starting racing across the yard to the front of the house, where the sounds were coming from.

She recalled her Clows back as she heard Wolf call her name from still inside the house. She turned the corner to the side of the mansion and just heard Wolf say, "**Void**." She glanced back only long enough to see part of a dark sphere of black appear out of the side of the house, right where their rooms were, before disappearing and leaving a gaping hole where everything in the sphere had been. She gasped and began running again, knowing that Wolf would not be far behind her now.

Sakura came around to the front of the house, just as a giant, swirling tower of ice was disappearing under a cloud of grey. She stopped and gaped, forgetting for a moment that she was, in fact, running away from Wolf at the moment. She could do no more that glance momentarily at the mass of people out on the front lawn, before strong arms wrapped around her, distracting her attention. "Sakura," she heard Wolf growl warningly in her ear.

"There he is, Auntie!" Sakura heard the unmistakable voice of Meilin cry out (and Sakura could have sworn that there was utter joy in Meilin's tone), at which point Wolf's arms dropped from around her. "Sakura's with him!" Meilin continued. Sakura looked up and spotted the black-haired girl pointing directly at where she and Wolf were standing. Sakura saw the rest of her family and the Li Dynasty standing across the lawn and made to run to them but was stopped by Wolf's grip on her arm. She looked at him questionably, but he only gave the smallest shake of his head, his eyes darkening threateningly, before letting go of her arm. Sakura understood that he would stop her from going to them any way that he could.

"Eriol Reed!"

Yelan's voice rang through the battle as she stepped forward. Sakura took a step toward her but was once again stopped by Wolf grabbing her arm tightly in his grip. She turned to demand that he let her go, but something in his gaze, a strong emotion that she could not name, stopped her. Resigned, she turned back to the others to see Eriol holding out his arm, temporarily stopping the battle, as he tilted his head slightly to watch her. "Yes?" he inquired pleasantly, as if asking about the weather.

"You will return my son to me," Yelan said darkly in a very dangerous, threatening tone of voice as she lifted her chin defiantly.

Eriol appeared to think about it, but then he said with a smug grin, "I rather think…not." He looked over to where Sakura and Wolf were standing.

And then she could see it—why he had looked so familiar that first day they met. She gasped and couldn't believe that she hadn't recognized the resemblance between him and his sisters. And those eyes—his eyes may have been somewhat darker of a shade, but it was clear that he inherited them from his mother. "You're Syaoran Li," she breathed softly as she looked at him in wonder.

He flinched almost as if she struck him with her words, taking a few steps back away from her.

"**Time**!"

Kaho's voice suddenly rang out strong and clear across the yard. Immediately, a golden sheen flooded around them as Sakura watched everyone but her, Kaho, and Wolf freeze exactly where they were. The Clows hovered over their masters, as the power of **Time** could not affect them, but they did nothing more than hang in the air.

"I'm afraid it will not last long, even though it only affects the area inside the walls," Kaho spoke again. Her lips gave almost the impression that she was smiling, even as her eyes looked sorrowful and apologetic. "There is too much power here. I can only give you a couple of minutes at the most."

"Aunt Kaho…" Sakura said quietly. "Why?" she asked, wondering why Kaho seemed to helping her rather than her own husband. After all, Sakura was not frozen along with all the others, who included Eriol Reed.

This time, when her lips curled upwards, Kaho appeared to be truly smiling. "You deserve a better ending," she said cryptically. She nodded at Wolf and Sakura followed her gaze towards the man. His brows were furrowed as he glared in Kaho's direction, but as Sakura turned his gaze to him, he moved his eyes to look at her in turn.

"What?" Wolf demanded gruffly.

Sakura tilted her head to the side as she studied him. He visibly stiffened as she walked over to him, closing the small distance that had been between them. Though his expression was blank, Sakura could see in his eyes that he was not nearly as composed as he appeared to be. Not to mention the fact that he kept throwing short glances over to where his and Sakura's families were standing frozen.

"They are your family," Sakura said quietly with her brightest smile on her face, hoping that that would reassure him.

Instantly, his expression shut down and he said flatly, "I _have_ no family." That was the moment that Sakura remembered what Kaho had said to her, nearly a month ago, before Wolf had woken up.

"_Ruby told me that Wolf lost his memories."_

"_He did not lose them."_

"_Wh-what?" _

"_They were taken from him."_

"You don't remember them," Sakura breathed softly. She wrung her hands together in front of her as she bit her bottom lip. She didn't know what to do now—she wanted to save him, reunite him with his family and restore his memories, but she didn't know if any of those things were possible. But, no…**Dream** had shown her a vision of him and not just of her father that night. She was here now with him for a reason. "Please," she whispered almost inaudibly, not sure who she was saying it to, but wishing with all her might for the power to help him.

Almost immediately, Sakura felt a rushing warm feeling race through her, almost as if her heart had taken flight. Some instinct caused her to reach out, almost in a trance, and place her hand on his chest directly over the space where his heart was. A shock, like static but infinitely more powerful, flashed where they touched, and Sakura could not move even if she wanted to.

Unbidden, her four Clows appeared around her. As one they spoke, but Sakura got the distinct sense that they were not speaking to her. _He is safe now_, they said.

Wolf—no, _Syaoran_—stepped back and clutched his shirt in his fist right where Sakura's hand had just been. There was a confused and somewhat pained look in his eyes and etched across his face. She couldn't even begin to guess what he was feeling or what was happening to him because she didn't even understand _what_ it was that she had done.

Suddenly, his hand dropped back to his side, and his eyes slid closed as his expression realigned itself to neutrality. As his eyes opened again moments later, two Clows—ones Sakura had never seen before—appeared at his sides. They were polar opposites in every way—one had hair and a dress of the deepest black one could imagine and the other of the purest of whites. Before her very eyes, they grew into tall women, nearly as tall as Syaoran himself, hovering scant inches off the ground. They made beautiful, strikingly imposing figures, but their expressions might as well have been cut from stone as there was no warmth or any expression at all in their smooth planes.

Sakura took a nervous step back as her breath caught slightly. Though she'd seen other Clows (like Meilin's **Fight**) who could be the same size as humans, it was still an awe-inspiring sight to see Syaoran's Clows so big. But it was Syaoran's distant and almost vacant expression that really had her worried and wishing that she could do the same with her own Clows.

As soon as she had made the wish in her mind, her own Clows grew around her with **Firey** and **Watery** at her sides and **Earthy** and **Windy** behind her. She felt the feathery soft touch of **Windy** as the Clow placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder. _That is __**Light**__ and __**Dark**__, Mistress, _**Windy** said softly. _They are the ones who have been protecting his heart—the very core of himself—so that he would not become corrupted in the hands of those who meant him harm._

_Speak our names softly with the intent to protect you_. These words came urgently from **Firey** on her right.

"You think he will attack me," Sakura asked softly.

_It is uncertain at this point what he will do_, **Earthy** said.

"You won't hurt him?"

_As you will_, **Firey** replied.

Drawing a deep breath, Sakura spoke the names of her Clows quietly so that they could use their powers, pouring her will into thinking, _Protect us, but do not harm Syaoran._

A strangled cry came from across the lawn and the golden sheen to the world shrunk back to its origin. Sakura looked over and cried out, "Aunt Kaho!" as the woman slide to the ground.

Now that everyone was no longer stopped by **Time**, Sakura knew they would resume their battle, but they all seemed to notice Sakura, Syaoran, and their Clows standing across from each other almost at the same moment. For the first time, Eriol looked actually surprised. "What—how?" His eyes took a look of realization as he turned to look on his fallen wife. "Kaho!" he cried as he raced to kneel by her side. "Why?"

Sakura did not hear her reply as she turned to look at Syaoran as he spoke. "Why?" he echoed Eriol's question. His expression had become confused and pained again with something almost like panic added in. "Why?" he repeated.

"Syaoran, let me help you," Sakura said as she held out her hand to him with a smile.

"Sakura," he whispered and, for a moment, when he started to lift his hand toward her, she thought he was going to calm down and come to her. But then **Void** appeared behind his head. Her expression was still sorrowful, but now there was a mixture of anger and malice as she looked at Sakura. Syaoran froze, but **Light** and **Dark** lost their stony appearance and looked alarmed as they stared at **Void**.

Sakura realized that **Void** must be speaking to Syaoran and whatever she was saying wasn't good. "Syaoran, no!" she cried out.

But before she could say any more, Syaoran's expression hardened and he said, "**Light**. **Dark**."


	12. Impacted Explanations

Bound to serve their master, **Light** and **Dark** turned grim-faced to Sakura, who took a few more steps back as a sort of panic fluttered in her chest. Instantly, **Windy** and **Earthy** came over her head and her four Clows formed a wall in front of her, no doubt to protect her. **Light** and **Dark** moved to close ranks in front of Syaoran as well. They stood still like that, ten or so feet apart from each other, staring at each other in silence for but a moment, until **Light** and **Dark** swirled their hands in front of themselves, creating balls of energy—one of each pure light and pure darkness. They turned only to merge their energy together before sending it straight at Sakura. But the Elemental Clows were ready, having formed a mass of energy of their own that swirled with the four colors of their elements and sent it hurtling towards where Syaoran was standing.

As the two orbs of energy collided in mid-air, they caused a massive explosion of impressive force that created an impact of sound and air that threw Sakura back clear off her feet and flung her back through the air. As she landed painfully on her back, sliding back another few feet on the ground with her momentum, the air was knocked from her lungs. She lay there gasping for breath for a few seconds as her vision blurred and spotted from her head hitting against the ground. She could hear her family calling her name and other voices yelling things that she couldn't quite make out, but she thought she heard Syaoran's name in the midst of them. She was more keenly aware of the pain in her chest and back as she tried to breathe. Her whole entire body felt like it was on fire from the plethora of injuries she was sure to have obtained, not to mention that it felt like the back of her shirt was being held together by the barest of rags.

Through her pains, she realized that the sounds of voices and running feet were getting louder and closer. So, far more quickly than she probably should have, she rolled onto her stomach and then got shakily to her hands and knees. Looking up through the dust the explosion had raised, she saw her father and brother running to her, but she called to them, "No, stay back! I'm fine." She knew that it was far too dangerous for anyone else to get any closer to Syaoran in his current state. It was dangerous even for her (as clearly evident by her condition), but at least she had the four Clows whose power could stand up to him with her.

But they did not stop, though they did slow down a little. "Sakura," Toya began to say as his face locked into an angry expression. Her father looked worried but almost more inclined to do what Sakura asked. She could also see the rest of her family back on the other side of the yard, standing with Syaoran's sisters.

But there was one other figure that was approaching across the yard as well, though she was further away from Sakura than either Toya or Fujitaka. "Do as she says," Yelan suddenly said sharply, actually causing the two men to stop for a moment, almost twenty or thirty feet away from her. Almost as if to punctuate her words, another explosion, though not nearly as large as the last one, rocked the yard, causing Sakura to duck down and cover her head with her hands. Nothing, however, hit her and she peeked over to see that the Clows were still battling in out in the now barren land between her and Syaoran. There was a large hole almost directly in the middle between them, probably from that first large explosion, but more, smaller holes punctured the ground. Even as she watched, **Earthy** was pulling a chunk of earth from the ground and sending it hurtling toward **Dark**. They appeared to be completely unaffected by the massive explosion even though they had been closer to it than anyone else.

"I'm not leaving my sister to face that menace!" she heard Toya exclaimed harshly, as she looked back in that direction, he started to move towards Sakura again, only to be stopped by Fujitaka's hand on his arm. "Dad?" he asked almost disbelievingly at his father who, strangely, had almost a reassuring smile on his face.

But it was Yelan again who spoke in answer. "She is the only one that can end this," she said flatly as she finally came level with the two men. She gestured out to the battlefield as she continued, "For any of us to step in now would be suicide. Only the Elementals have enough power to stand up to the Attributes."

Toya looked torn for a moment, glancing quickly between Fujitaka, then Yelan, and finally Sakura. But then his shoulders slumped down slightly to show his acquiesce as he nodded slowly. "Sakura, be careful!" he yelled out. Not looking happy about it, he allowed Fujitaka lead him away from Sakura and Syaoran back to the rest of the group, standing a relatively safe distance away from the battling Clows.

Despite all her words, it was Yelan who remained standing in her place a moment longer. She glanced over to the other side of the battlefield-where Syaoran was—before looking back at Sakura. "Please save my son," she said almost too quietly for Sakura to hear before also retreating back to her family.

Sakura took a deep breath before she looked over at where Syaoran was and found that he had been knocked down by the force of the explosion as well. They were physically farther apart from each now than they had been in three weeks. Syaoran, however, seemed to have recovered slightly as Sakura had spoken to her father, brother, and Yelan as he was sitting up at the moment, rubbing his right arm. It was just another second before he got steadily to his feet, looking far better off than she felt. She couldn't quite read his expression from this far away and due to the fact that all the dust had not quite settled yet (nor was it likely to until the Clows stopped battling as their continued attacks at each other just stirred it up again). So, she could not even begin to guess what he was thinking, though she had never really been able to before. But this past week…she had really thought she had been starting to get through to him.

Shaking her head slightly (and instantly regretting it because it hurt), Sakura managed to push up to herself back onto her knees as she gingerly felt the back of her head. It was tender to the touch but thankfully not bleeding. She felt like she had a million scrapes and bruises but nothing felt like it was broken. She could see that her clothes had some rips in them now, though it felt like the back of her shirt had the worst of it. As she looked back at Syaoran, she could see that his clothes were in a not much better state and, even though she couldn't see them, she was sure he had just as many scrapes and bruises as her…well, probably not quite as many as he was better trained for this sort of fight. The only one she could see was a thin red line along his left cheek.

Mustering herself, she shakily got to her feet, swaying slightly as she regained her balance. She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes, placing her clasped hands to her chest. She opened her eyes and, in a determined tone she repeated the special mantra that she'd had ever since she was a child, "Everything will surely be all right." As she looked up, **Firey** was sending a small torrent of fireballs towards Syaoran, however they were stopped when **Light** created a screen of white light to block it. They bounced of the shield and fell to the ground. What little foliage was left on the ground, caught fire where they hit, but **Watery** was there causing a flood of water to douse whatever was aflame. "Don't hurt him!" she called out alarmed, reinforcing her will on her Clows.

_We shall try_, came **Watery**'s terse reply, sounding strained as she left her completed task of putting out the fires and combined her powers with **Windy** to try and bind **Dark** in a swirling mass of water and air, only to have **Dark** disperse the entire thing with a shaft of darkness. Sakura anxiously watched the Clows struggling against each other for a moment before she realized that she couldn't win against them. Her Clows were only on the defensive for the most part, as they were really just retaliating attacks from **Light** and **Dark** and never trying to press their advantage or be on the offense.

Syaoran. She looked at the man that, for all she could see, had not moved since coming to his feet, watching the battle almost impassively as **Void** still hung behind him. It all came down to stopping _him_ rather than his Clows, for while her Elementals could hold off his Attributes as long as she had the energy to supply them, if he used **Void**, she didn't know if she could stop that. She hadn't really ever seen it personally used except for when he used it to chase after her, but she'd heard exactly what the Clow was capable of—Syaoran had used it before to cause people to no longer exist, and she wasn't positive if he could use it on other Clows or not. But she had to come up with a way to stop him _without_ harming him.

Suddenly, she remembered that her Clows seemed to know more about what was going on than she did, seeing as they were the ones who mostly helped to release **Light** and **Dark** in the first place. And **Windy** always seemed to have answers, even if she didn't state them quite as plainly as Sakura would have liked sometimes. "How can we help him?" Sakura called to her Clows.

_The power is in you_, **Earthy **said. A beam of black raced towards Sakura but was stopped by the ground flying up and creating a wall in front of her. She turned her head away as the dirt exploded around her, but other than more dirt streaks on her clothes, she was unharmed from that blast.

After coughing in the dust, she yelled out in frustration, "But what does that mean?" They had already told her that, but she needed to be able to reach that power. Now.

But she really had no idea _how_.

_Shortly after both of you were born, you were connected to each other. We, along with Syaoran Li's Attributes, intertwined your destinies infinitely together for a purpose you could only accomplish together_, **Windy** explained, giving more or less a straight answer, for once.

But not one Sakura was expecting.

Her eyes went wide when she heard that. She hadn't even known something like that was possible, but it did make her wonder if the connection between them was the reason that she had always felt so safe and content around him, even when he had given her plenty of reasons not to. If this intertwining of their destinies was why she had felt so determined to save him, even when he had just been Wolf long before she had known that he was Yelan's son. There was much she wanted to ask—like how had they connected them—but what she asked now was, "What purpose?"

_To reunite the Clows_, **Earthy** said, short and to the point as always.

Thankfully, **Windy** decided to expand on that before Sakura even had to ask as she said,_ Once the three families were actually just one—united in the pursuit of using their Clows to better the world, as we had been entrusted to them to do by our creator, Clow Reed. But as time has passed, as Clow Reed had foreseen, they grew apart and each lost has lost their sight. _

She had to stop speaking for a moment as she blew some of **Light**'s missiles away from Sakura. They were turned around and shot instead at the Reed Manor where they impacted against the side of the house, blowing in the walls where they hit. Sakura cringed slightly, hoping that everyone that had been left in the house was in a safe place. **Windy** continued her explanation as she said,_ We had been given instructions on what to do when this happened and so waited a long time for you two to be born. As Clow Reed had predicted, we Elementals and the Attributes existed in this world at the same time, as we had not since we were under his care. At last, as he told us to do, we could help you bring forth the Final Clow._

She started slightly at that—was there really another Clow other than the forty that they knew? If Clow Reed had made another Clow before he died, he hadn't made any record of it that Sakura knew of, and surely she would have learned about it from her grandfather or Tomoyo before now. Then she remembered her previous conversation with **Windy** and what the Clow had told her then. "The one who was waiting for us, right?" Sakura asked. If there was a special Final Clow that had been waiting specifically for her and Syaoran, then perhaps Clow Reed had not told anyone but the other Clows about it to keep it safe.

_Correct_, **Earthy** answered.

_Since its power is great, as a safeguard, Clow Reed made it so that it can only be used by two hearts as one_, **Firey** put in.

**Windy**, the one who had always spoken the most, continued,_ But Syaoran Li's half was awakened too early by Eriol Reed. Though we felt it happen, we could do nothing to stop it as both of you were too far apart from each other and far too young. And __**Light**__ and __**Dark**__ were in their self-imposed deep slumber to protect him and themselves from the madness of Eriol Reed. She must have been so hurt and confused to lash out with her power so violently._

Sakura looked over to where Syaoran was standing and the Clow that hovered above his head. "**Void**," she said quietly, understanding that she must have been the half that they were talking about. Her eyes lit up as she realized _why_ they were always telling her that the power was in her to save him. **Void** had been only _half_ of the Final Clow, and she must have been residing _inside_ Syaoran to be called out by him. Excitedly, she said, "So my half is still—"

_Asleep within you, yes_, **Watery** confirmed her thoughts.

_We believe you can awaken it now. We felt it stirring when you helped to release __**Light**__ and __**Dark**_, **Windy** said.

_Together, you and Syaoran can bring the families as one again_, **Firey** said. _We don't exactly enjoy fighting each other._

_And the final wish of Clow Reed will be fulfilled_, **Earthy** said.

"To unite the families again," Sakura whispered and she felt rather than heard the agreement of her Clows. She had to bring out her half of the Final Clow, but she really had no idea how to do that. She had only ever felt it stir when she was around Syaoran. She gasped as she realized exactly what she had to do. All she had to do was _get to Syaoran_. But then she surveyed the battlefield and the wide space that lay between her and reaching that goal. To get to him, she would have run across it and hope that her Clows could protect her from the attacking Attributes. Not to mention that her body was still sore and hurt from hitting the ground at the beginning of the battle. But it was the only way.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, she steeled herself and said, "All right. I know what to do."

_We are with you, Mistress._

Sakura began to run across the battlefield, all her aches and pains flaring up at once as she did so. Gritting her teeth, she continued on through the pain, knowing that her only chance to end this whole thing lay in reaching Syaoran. Her Clows flew around and above her, deflecting attacks from the Attributes as she made her way to Syaoran, trying to remember the feeling she'd had when she placed her hand on Syaoran's chest. Syaoran saw her coming and she saw his shock as she took a flying leap at him, wrapping her arms around him as she knocked both of them to the ground. After a moment, Syaoran pushed them up into a sitting position, but, to her surprise, he did not push her away.

Still, Sakura did not loosen her hold, struggling to put a name to the feeling rushing within her. She had felt it before and it had only grown stronger the more time she had spent with him. But then, suddenly, she knew exactly what it was as she listened to Syaoran's pounding heartbeat against her cheek.

It was just so…simple.

How could she not have seen it?

Slowly, she pulled away from him to look up in his eyes. His expression was blank, but his eyes were stirring with emotion. There was a battle struggling within him that much she could see. She looked up briefly at **Void** before quickly returning her gaze back to Syaoran. Slowly, she reached her arms up and wrapped them around the back of his head. "I love you, Syaoran," she said quietly. He stilled in her arms, eyes widening in surprise, but he said nothing in reply. So, not exactly knowing why she said it, she whispered, "Please remember."

Then, she pulled his lips down to hers.


	13. Hope

She hadn't expected him to return her kiss nor had she meant for it to last for more than a moment, but Syaoran surprised her on both accounts. He didn't respond at all at first, but the moment Sakura began to pull away, Syaoran wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him again. Minutely, she was aware that the sounds of their Clows fighting behind them had ceased—Syaoran's will to attack her must have stopped. It was an amateur kiss, not awkward, but really nothing more just pressing their lips together. Not that she expected much more, seeing as she didn't really have _that_ much experience in the area (and it was unlikely Syaoran did, either, all things considered—him being basically an emotionless shell until today and all). But, despite the innocence of it or maybe because of it, she felt a rushing feeling of warmth that she knew was mostly from the fact that she was _kissing_ Syaoran, yet there was something else about it. Something was awakening inside her, she could feel it, though she could not put a name to it.

The kiss lasted only a short while before they pulled back from each other, but Syaoran did not open his eyes as he rested his forehead against hers and whispered, "Sakura…I…" But he said no more after that. Sakura tried to stifle the disappointment that suddenly welled up inside her. She hadn't exactly been expecting him to return her sentiments—he'd only just gotten his whole self back and she could only imagine the overwhelming conflict that was causing in him—but it was hard for her not to hear him say those words back to her.

They stayed that way for a moment in silence before Syaoran suddenly leaned back from her, opened his eyes, and looked up into the air above them. Sakura followed his gaze and saw **Void** hovering above Syaoran, but now there was no malice in her gaze now, just melancholic sorrow but with some confusion. And finally, Sakura noticed that something else was hovering above her head. A scarlet heart with radiant white wings and a crown above it hung over her. "My half," she whispered softly as she understood what it was, remembering what her Clows had said. "Be complete," she continued still speaking softly but now looking at **Void** again.

The nameless heart Clow floated over to **Void**, who watched it warily as it approached. As it stopped before her, **Void** cautiously, slowly reached out and placed her small hand against it. The moment they touched, **Void**'s face blossomed into an expression of the purest joy. Everything about her that had once been drab and dreary became at once vibrant and brilliant. **_Hope_**, a beautiful young voice spoke in Sakura's mind in a tone of unabashed happiness. _I am __**Hope**__!_

Sakura knew immediately the voice belonged to the Clow that was once, but no longer,** Void**.

_Thank you for saving our master, Sakura._ Two voices spoke to her at the same time, and they were similar but still distinctively different. As the voices spoke, she found **Light** and **Dark**—now back in their normal diminutive size—coming to hover next to Syaoran and, this time they were smiling at her in calm serenity. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw her own Clows, who were also back to normal, coming to hover at her side as well. They, too, had smiles upon their faces, even the normally stoic **Earthy**.

Realizing that it had been **Light** and **Dark** who had spoken to her, she was slightly taken aback. She had never before heard of Clows speaking to anyone other than their own master. She asked, "How—"

But they answered her question before she could even finished asking it when one of them (she did not and could not discern which) said,_ Now that __**Hope**__ is complete and your connection to Master restored to full strength, we can speak with you._

_As we can now speak to Syaoran, _**Windy** said quickly.

She felt Syaoran jolt slightly, since they hadn't moved away from each other yet, and turned her gaze to look at him. He was frowning and gazing at the ground. At first she thought he was just surprised that her Clows could speak to him, like she had been about his Clows, but then she thought she saw something closer to panic than just shock in his eyes. She reached out to place her hand on his shoulder but stopped halfway there. She pulled her hand back to her chest. "What is it?" she asked gently, trying to lean in to see his face more clearly, at least.

"It's nothing," he said as he averted his gaze to the side.

Huffing slightly, she filled her cheeks with air as she frowned angrily. He looked at her suddenly and looked startled at her angry display. Sakura knew this was probably was with good reason, as the only time she'd really been angry when they'd been together had been that whole water cup incident when he woke up. Realizing that this evasiveness of Syaoran's was probably going to become a common occurrence for them for the next while as he tried to reconcile himself back together, she breathed out heavily to calm herself and said in a low and gentle tone, "Syaoran…"

He frowned and shook his head slightly at her as he said, "It's just…nothing."

"Tell me, Syaoran!" she pleaded almost desperately. She wanted so much to be able to help him, but if he wasn't going to tell her what was wrong, she had no idea how. Not for the first time, she wished she had Tomoyo's ability to nearly read minds.

"I don't remember being Syaoran!" he burst out, but immediately looked almost ashamed of his outburst as his face flushed red and he dropped his gaze again. Sakura's eyes widened as she leaned slightly back away from him startled both by his outburst and what he said. "I don't remember…" he continued almost brokenly.

"Eriol took your memories," Sakura realized, remembering once again back to the conversation she had with Kaho. She'd wondered how it was possible that someone could have taken his memories, but now that she'd seen Eriol use his Clow **Erase** in the fight, she realized that that was what Kaho had meant when she said someone who was desperate to protect his family had taken them. Eriol would have seen Syaoran as a threat, since he'd been born with two of the most powerful Clows in existence and it was no secret that the Reed Clan and the Li Dynasty held each other in animosity. Sakura and the Elementals had been protected in their anonymity—none of the families had known she existed or where her parents had run off to before Sakura and Tomoyo had met. But…perhaps there was a way to get them back.

Sakura looked up at the Final Clow, who still hovered above them, smiling down at them in patient happiness. She wasn't sure, but given that her name _was_ **Hope**, she had an idea of what the Clow, who was supposed to be the most powerful of all, could do. But to be sure, she looked at **Windy** and asked her, "What can **Hope** do?"

**Windy** almost looked surprised at the question as she answered, _I would have thought that would have been obvious. As long as your heart and will is aligned with Syaoran's own, she can do whatever you hope for her to do. _

_Because even at the bleakest hour, there is always hope_, one of Syaoran's Clows said. Sakura thought it might have been **Dark** as the voice was slightly deeper.

_However, she was created for peace and has an inherent goodness so can only be used as such._ This time Sakura was sure that it had been **Light** who had spoken.

_We suggest you wait to bring the three families together again until your energy from our fight has been restored, _**Firey** said saucily. With that, all the Clows, with the exception of **Hope**, disappeared.

Sakura looked at Syaoran, who was still in that perpetual haze of confusion. Sakura pushed herself back up to her feet, pulling Syaoran up with her. Sakura did not let go of his hands even Syaoran loosened his grip to let them drop. He tilted his head slightly but remained silent. She kept her gaze on him as she asked the Clow beside them, "**Hope**, could you restore Syaoran's memories?"

**Hope** gave a little giggle before answering,_ If you both want me to._

Syaoran's eyes widened as he looked quickly at **Hope**, before looking at Sakura again. Sakura bit her bottom lip, as she asked, "Will it…do we have enough energy left?" She knew she felt tired, which meant that her magical stores must be low and given how the Attributes had given blow for blow with her Elementals, Syaoran had to be the same.

_Yes. You have the strength left._

Syaoran forced their hands apart as he stepped back. Sakura looked at him startled but his gaze was averted. Before she could ask what was wrong, he suddenly asked quietly and so uncertainly, "Sakura, what if I don't want to be Syaoran?"

Sakura smiled reassuringly—he sounded so small and hesitant in that one moment—and reached out to touch his cheek, to pull his gaze back to her. Once she was sure she has his attention, she said, "You have a mother who loves you so much she nearly died herself when you did. You have four sisters who absolutely adore you and a cousin who thinks you are the whole world. I only spent a few days with them, but I could see how much they love you." She let her hand drop from his face but only to intertwine her fingers with his again. "And you'll have me with you regardless. Forever." She paused a moment before she implored quietly, "Let me give them back to you."

He nodded, just once very slowly, a moment later. So, Sakura stepped even closer to him, and they gazed into each other's eyes. Sakura concentrated on what she wanted **Hope** to do. At the same moment, the two of them spoke and said, "**Hope**."

**Hope** laughed delightfully in their minds and began to shine brightly. Sakura kept her gaze locked on Syaoran, so she saw him the moment when **Hope**'s light faded.

She saw the moment when Syaoran smiled.

It nearly took her breath away, the amount of difference it made on his features. It wasn't a wide smile—it was really nothing more than a small upturning of his lips—but it lit up his face and made him just seem so much lighter, as if a burden he had been carrying with him was lifted. **Hope**'s laughter flitted around them once more. _I'll be here when you're ready_, she said before she disappeared, leaving Sakura and Syaoran alone.

* * *

><p>"Sakura, I—" Syaoran began to say but he was interrupted by a flying mound of black hair as someone slammed into his side. Unlike when Sakura did it earlier, this time he was only pushed to the side a few steps, but it was still enough for him to lose his grip on Sakura. "What…" he started to ask until a pair of familiar red eyes turned their gaze up to him. Memories that might not have been so clear if they hadn't been returned to him just minutes before flashed through him. "Meilin?" he asked.<p>

At which point, Meilin promptly called out his name, burst into tears, and buried her face in his chest again. "Meilin!" he called out surprised. He never knew what to do when she cried.

"Sakura!"

Syaoran watched as more people began to approach. Those that gathered around Sakura and started hugging her, he only recognized from the battle earlier, but the other five women passed them and came closer to him and Meilin. These five women looked more familiar and he found himself imposing their younger images from his memories over their appearance now—these women were his mother and his sisters.

Seventeen years was…a long, long time.

Meilin finally let up and stepped away from him, fervently wiping the tears away from her cheeks. And where he once might have been able to console her tears, he no longer knew what were the right words to say to her. He didn't think he'd ever felt so confused and lost in his life, except perhaps the time after he'd originally lost his memories in the first place. The only thing that made sense at the moment was Sakura, but she was still in the midst of her own family. He didn't really have the right to tear her away from them for his own selfish reasons.

So he turned to face the rest of his own family. His mother looked as regal and composed as he remembered. He'd been in awe of her when he was younger and wanted so much to be able to command the same air of respect she did so effortlessly. His sisters were slightly different in that their boundless energy seemed more controlled, if barely. Not one of them seemed to want to be the first to move. Syaoran knew he would have to be the one to make the first move because they would be afraid that to say or do the wrong thing would be to lose him all over again. He realized this, but still he didn't know how to tell them that he was okay letting them back into his life.

"I…" he started to say before stopping again. Conflicting emotions—a lifetime of instilled hatred versus memories of unconditional love—clashed against each other. He thought he might have been about to apologize, but he knew everything hadn't exactly been his fault. He looked over to find Sakura, still surrounded by her family, though all of them had turned to watch what his family was doing. He barely saw them as his eyes locked with Sakura. She smiled brightly at him as she gave him a slight nod of encouragement.

Bolstered by her feelings, Syaoran looked at his mother and stepped toward her. She stiffened just barely as he took the few steps to reach her. Standing before her, he said the only word he could think off to let her know what he wanted.

"Mother."

And Yelan smiled at him, causing his own lips to curl slightly upwards. Then she wrapped her arms around him, and he heard her murmur, "Syaoran, _my_ Syaoran." Instinctively, he stiffened at her touch, but it only took moments for her feelings of relief and love to flood through him. Cautiously, he allowed himself to relax in her arms. Her arms tightened ever so slightly as he did so.

Almost as one, he heard his sisters begin to laugh and squeal. Yelan stepped back away from him as his sisters accosted him from all sides and Syaoran found himself at peace for a minute, reveling in the familiarity of it all—Shiefa running her fingers through his hair as she'd always loved to do, the twins, Fanren and Fuutie, hanging on either side of him, gripping his arms as if he might disappear at any moment, and Feimei, his closest sister who'd always been the one who took care of him the most, straightening his shirt, despite it being an almost useless gesture as the shirt itself was probably ruined beyond all hope.

Despite the separation and the time it would take to heal from everything that had happened to him, _this_ was his family and where he once might have tried to indignantly throw them off annoyed, he pushed away the feeling of discomfort that arose after the moment of revelation had passed and the confusion and confliction returned. He allowed them in, knowing and able to actually _feel_ the joy that his presence was giving them.

But just when he really thought he would not be able to take anymore, Yelan said, "Enough." Obediently, his sisters stepped away from him, and he couldn't help letting out a breath of relief.

He knew she was there before she snuck her hand into his own. "Come meet my family," she said lightly. Knowing that she was trying to get him to a sense of normalcy in his new overwhelming world, he allowed her to pull him closer to the other group and listened as she introduced them all—her parents, Fujitaka and Nadeshiko, her brother, Toya, her cousin, Tomoyo, her aunt, Sonomi, and finally her grandfather Masaki Amamiya. Though things were starting to fall into place more and more each minute, he still had lingering feelings of confusion and a sense of being lost.

"Where is Uncle Eriol?" Sakura asked.

Syaoran jolted slight at the sound of that name, unsure what he was supposed to feel when Fujitaka informed Sakura that the Reed Clan had seemingly vanished. The man had kidnapped him, and he'd never had any real affection for any of them, but still they were the only people he had known.

"Good riddance," Sonomi said with distaste.

"Oh, no," Sakura said and Syaoran was sure that he was not the only one surprised by the depth of emotion in her voice. "Aunt Kaho said…he was just so hurt and desperate."

"Sakura?" Nadeshiko asked gently.

Suddenly, she shook her head. "Never mind," she said quietly.

"Let's go home," Yelan said.

Syaoran's hand gave Sakura's a sudden tight squeeze, as the thought of being separated from her flashed in his mind. She smiled up at him with reassurance and said, "I meant what I said. I'm not leaving you."

Syaoran wondered at how she could understand him so well, especially since he hardly understood himself yet, not to mention that she was the source of much of his confusion. He remembered vividly her confession of love for him, and he wanted to be able to answer her, but he just _did not know_ if he felt the same for her.


	14. Time for Healing

No one seemed to want to be the first one to move. Meilin wanted to hug her cousin again, but he still had a somewhat glazed and lost look about him—he was just _different_ from the boy she used to know. She knew it was just going to take time for them to all get used to each other again. Or at least that's what she hoped in any case. "Let's return to the airport," her aunt suddenly said, not surprising Meilin in the slightest by being the first to recover.

Almost as one, the group began to troop across the battle-scorned yard, back to the gate where the cars were waiting for them. The sky was clearing back up into its sunny brightness that had reigned before **Rain** and **Cloud** had caused the change in the weather, and as their power was no longer in effect, nature was retaking the reins.

Soon, everyone was piled mostly into the same cars as before, with the exception of Sakura and Syaoran now riding in the same car as Tomoyo and Meilin. Meilin could tell that Sakura's family had wanted her with them, and it was clear that the Li daughters wanted to stifle their younger brother among themselves again, but the matter had been quickly resolved when Sakura had smiled at all of them brightly and said, "I'd like to sit with Syaoran, please."

Well, no one was about to argue with that (though Toya looked about to try before his mother and father gently forced him into their car), and it was the easiest solution to just keep with the same seat assignments. With the exception of switching Misaki and Yelan for Tomoyo (because once her place beside Syaoran was assured, Tomoyo was the second person Sakura asked to ride with back to the airport).

After they had driven for some time, Meilin glanced over her shoulder at her cousin, who was leaning against the window with his head resting in his hand. He didn't appear to be listening at all to what Sakura and Tomoyo were chatting about next to him. He also didn't appear to be quite aware that Sakura was idly playing with his free hand, either. Suddenly, Syaoran's head lifted up and he met her gaze as he asked, "What is it, Meilin?"

Meilin started slightly and Sakura and Tomoyo's conversation ceased. She felt the heat flood her face as she felt flustered by the sudden question, and she realized that she didn't really have anything to say—mostly she had just wanted to make sure he was still there, silly as that sounded. She shook her head quickly and said, "Nothing."

He looked at her for a moment more before turning his gaze back out the window. Meilin thought that would be the end of it, and was about to turn back around in her seat to face the front again, disappointed and almost angry at herself and at the situation at general, but Syaoran surprised her by speaking again. "Meilin, where—where's my father?" he asked quietly.

"Oh," Meilin said, dropping her gaze and suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. She hadn't been expecting that question, but obviously the subject would have come up eventually by the man's complete absence. The thought hadn't really crossed her mind yet, but now that the subject was at hand, Meilin realized that she kind of thought this would have been something her aunt would have to explain. "Um…he died a little over six years ago," Meilin said quietly, knowing that there was no point in hiding the truth.

She heard a gasp, probably from Sakura, as the other girl, quickly and almost breathlessly with her heartfelt empathy, said, "Syaoran, I'm so sorry."

It was then that Meilin finally looked up again and, she didn't know what she was expecting Syaoran's reaction to be, but she knew that it wasn't the small nod he gave, almost like resigned acceptance. His gaze returned to the scenery outside the window as he said nothing else.

There was a moment of silence before Tomoyo made some comment about the garden in Hong Kong, to which Sakura replied, and the car returned to what it had been before. Meilin turned back to the front and passed the rest of the car trip without saying another word, only half listening to Tomoyo and Sakura's conversation. She bit her bottom lip and choked back her tears.

Syaoran was alive, but he wasn't _her_ Syaoran anymore.

* * *

><p>Feimei got up from her seat and, as she moved along the aisle of the plane, she glanced around at the occupants, most of whom had fallen asleep in the lull of the plane's engines and the aftermath of using so much magic in battle. Her mother, of course, was awake and typing away on her laptop at the table. Toya, too, was one of the few awake, pretending to read the newspaper, but Feimei could clearly see that he was actually watching his sister. Feimei was only mildly tired, as her two sisters had already created the clouds and moisture for her to use her own Clow. So, as she was plenty wide awake and there was now an opportunity, she slid into one of the chair across the table from where Syaoran and Sakura sat.<p>

The group had to break up at the London airport as the Li business jet was not large enough to carry all of them nor was the Amamiya one (being even smaller in size). Since Sakura was not inclined to leave Syaoran any time soon, her family seemed to understand that the one month they had been separated from her could not really compare to the seventeen years the Li Dynasty lost of Syaoran's life, so it was agreed that Sakura and Syaoran would travel with them. However, Yelan offered to set up the entire Amamiya Family in her home, so they (minus Toya and Tomoyo who were traveling in the Li jet as well) took their own jet, expecting to all meet up in the Hong Kong airport again.

Now, they were hours into the flight back to Hong Kong. Sakura, who had only lasted about ten minutes after take-off before falling asleep, was lying shamelessly against Syaoran's shoulder, her breath peaceful and even. Syaoran had turned his gaze to Feimei almost the same moment she had stood up from her previous seat. He said nothing as he was clearly waiting for her to speak. "You can sleep, too, if you want," Feimei said casually but really concerned underneath. She was probably…no not probably, she _was_ the one who used to fuss over Syaoran the most out of her family—it had been natural to her as his closest sibling and as her parents had been away from home often. "I know you used just as much magic as she did," she continued.

For just a moment, he bit his bottom lip underneath his teeth. "I was…trained to deal with it," he replied somewhat hesitantly and Feimei got the impression that "trained" was not the word he had been going to use. She had to wonder exactly what her brother had been put through all these years away from them. She had to wonder if she really wanted to know.

Feimei looked over at the girl sleeping beside him, deciding that for the moment she'd leave that subject for now. "She seems quite attached to you," Feimei commented with a smile. She felt like Sakura was a safe enough topic of conversation—truthfully, she just wanted to talk to her brother some more and it wasn't like she was digging for information…much.

Was it a crime to want to know her brother's relationship with the pretty young woman he seemed so attached to at the moment?

Too her great surprise (and immense pleasure), a soft redness flushed across his cheeks as he glanced down at Sakura, who remained blissfully unaware in deep sleep. His eyes shot wildly around the enclosed space for just a few seconds before dropping down to the ground. "She…well…um…she said she…er…loves…me," he practically stuttered very quietly. Feimei was almost certain that no one else had heard (or at least Toya hadn't heard due to the lack of reaction to the information and if her mother heard, she gave no indication of it). It was also clear to Feimei that he had no idea what exactly he should do about it.

"Well?" Feimei prompted as she arched an eyebrow, relishing in seventeen years of lost time teasing her brother, but a little uncertain how far she could push just yet.

"Well, what?" he barked almost angrily. Feimei's heart soared as she recognized the familiar expression on his face. It was the same one he used to have when he was (or at least pretending to be) annoyed at any one of them. She didn't even care that it meant he was irked at her—she'd take anything that let her know that the boy she loved was still somewhere left in the still distant man in front of her.

Suppressing a grin of glee, she asked, "Well, how do you feel about her?"

There was the slight sound of newspaper rustling and just the tiniest falter in her mother's typing that indicated to Feimei that—even if they hadn't been listening before—Toya and her mother were listening now. But instead of the flustered reply Feimei was expecting (given his reaction from before), Syaoran merely shrugged his free shoulder and turned his gaze out the window into the clouds beyond. "I…don't know," he admitted quietly.

"You don't know," Feimei repeated somewhere between stunned and wondering why she was stunned in the first place. Sakura had given them all a brief overview of what had happened to him (his memories erased, his essence sealed by his Clows, the detached treatment of the Reed Clan, and how she had only just restored his heart and memories to him). So she shouldn't really be surprised that he couldn't even figure himself out at the moment. But, given how he had acted around her and seemed to cling to her like a lifeline, Feimei had just sort of thought he was in love with Sakura…and that he knew it.

Another half-shrug was all the reply that she received from him this time. He didn't look at her again and Feimei rather thought that this was his blatant way of telling her that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. So, Feimei just gave him a reassuring smile and instead said, "At least try to get some sleep, okay?"

The briefest of nods came from him now, so it was with an almost inaudible sigh that Feimei stood up to leave the pair alone again. As she looked at the other table, she found that her mother was watching her. Feimei tilted her head in an unspoken question, but her mother only mouthed the word "time" at her. Feimei nodded in understanding before moving on to her previous seat across from Toya, who wasn't even pretending to read the newspaper anymore as he glared in the direction of Sakura and Syaoran.

Her mother was right—it was just going to take some time for everything to work out.

* * *

><p>"I believe that we have all had quite the harrowing past few days and it would be in our best interests to retire for the night," Yelan spoke out through the incessant chattering that flowed through the room back in the Li house in Hong Kong. Silence fell for just a moment as they all turned their attention to their host, but Yelan's eyes locked onto Syaoran as she said, "Wei and I would like to take you to your room."<p>

Syaoran only nodded, but Sakura saw her chance and spoke up. "I'll come, too," she said almost instantly as she snaked her arm around his. It wasn't just the fact that she loved him that caused her not to want to leave him. She was just afraid of what would happen to him if she abandoned him now, still trying to reconcile two very different pasts together. She knew that he was still overwhelmed by all the attention, though she could tell that his family was trying really hard to keep the distance he needed.

Yelan only nodded and the two of them left the room behind as they followed Syaoran's mother and Wei through the hallways of the house. The trip was silent, but Sakura could feel Syaoran steps slow slightly as Yelan and Wei stopped in across the hall from a door. They only watched as Syaoran approached the door, clearly waiting for him to open the door first rather than do it for him.

Syaoran's hand rested on the handle for only a brief moment before he turned it and stepped inside with Sakura only half a step behind him. The room didn't look familiar to Sakura, but it was clear Syaoran knew exactly where he was, even though his expression was nearly unreadable. Sakura turned as the quiet footsteps behind them indicated that Yelan and Wei had followed them inside. "You don't have to sleep here, if you don't want to," Yelan suddenly said, which Sakura didn't really understand.

But he took in a deep breath and shook his head just once, as he said, "No. I'll be just fine, Mother."

Realization dawned on Sakura as she realized that this must have been Syaoran's old room—the one he had stayed in before he was kidnapped…no doubt the one that he had been kidnapped from in the middle of the night. It made sense, given the amount of decorating was green (Sakura remembered that Feimei had said it was his favorite color).

"Very well," Yelan said in an indifferent tone, but Sakura could have sworn she saw just the hint of a smile on her face.

"Is there anything else you need, Master Syaoran?" Wei asked.

"No."

"May I show you to your room, Miss Sakura?" Wei asked as he bowed slightly.

Sakura looked over and Syaoran, who was now trailing a hand across the top of the wooden footboard of the bed. She looked back at Wei with a smile and gently but firmly said, "No, thank you."

Yelan raised an eyebrow at this, but she said nothing as Wei—whose expression hadn't changed in the slightest—said, "Very well. Good night," he finished as he bowed and left.

Yelan stayed a moment more, but when it was clear that Sakura was not going to leave, she said, "Good night." Then, she left as well.

Sakura turned hesitantly to Syaoran, who was still silently purveying the room. "I can leave if you want me to," she said quietly.

"No."

A little surprised by the answer—she wasn't going to leave him until he wanted her to, but still she had expected him to want her to leave for the night—Sakura floundered for a moment as she said, "Oh…um…okay. I guess I'll sleep on the couch then."

"No, Sakura," he said a little more gently.

Extremely flustered now and feeling her face flame completely red, Sakura hastily said, "Syaoran, I…I mean…um…I do love you but…well…I don't think…"

Syaoran cut off her nonsensical rambling by finally turning to face her and reaching out to take her hands. Shocked (since this was the first time he'd initiated contact between them since regaining his heart), Sakura stared up at him with her mouth hanging slightly open. "I don't know how I feel about you, Sakura," he said, repeating what she had already heard before, and Sakura once again could not help the slice of disappointment that ran through her. "I've got myself back, but I can't just throw out what I'd been. Everything is…very confusing right now. And you are probably the most confusing thing, but at the same time, you are the only one that makes sense to me."

Sakura smiled at him as she understood what he was really saying: she was his anchor right now. Like it or not, he'd been through a traumatic and terrible experience, and she knew there was a chance he would not recover from it—others had not. Sakura would help—they _all_ would help—but ultimately it would be up to Syaoran to heal. But that was all for another day. Right here, right now, he didn't want anything else but for her to be with him.

"All right, Syaoran," Sakura acquiesced. She waited another moment and allowed him to break the contact between them. He let her fingers slip through his grasp and stepped ever so slightly back. "Now, if I know Wei—which, admittedly, I don't really, but he just seems like the type, you know? Anyway, he should have everything ready for us," she finished as she walked over to the dresser. After opening a few drawers, just as she expected, she found pajamas for Syaoran. A little bit more unexpected was finding some for herself as well; she'd been planning on just borrowing some from Syaoran or having Wei bring her some in a few minutes. She pulled them from the drawers and pushed Syaoran's into his arms. "Change out here. I'll go into the bathroom and get ready."

After closing the bathroom door, she took quick stock of what was there and had her suspicions confirmed when she found two toothbrushes and the plethora of products—face wash, scented lotion, a brush, etc.—that had been in her bathroom when she was here last time. Someone (she suspected Yelan) had expected her to stay with Syaoran. She had wondered why she hadn't had to put up more of an argument to stay with him, but Yelan had said nothing as she left them.

Wondering slightly, she quickly slipped out of her clothes—and, seeing no hamper, kicked them into a corner—and pulled the nightgown over her head before finishing her preparations for bed. Cautiously, she slowly opened the door and peeked out, but she was confused when she did not immediately see Syaoran. Stepping out of the bathroom, she called his name but received no response. She panicked for a bare moment until she saw the door that she had suspected lead to the garden slit open just a crack.

She walked over and pulled it open finding Syaoran dressed in the simple sleeveless white shirt and gray sweatpants she had given him. He was sitting against the wall with his head leaning back and his eyes closed. For a moment, Sakura thought he was sleeping before she realized that the lines on his face were not quite relaxed enough for it. She slipped down next to him, pulling her feet to the side.

After another few seconds, he opened his eyes and pulled his head back up straight but didn't look at Sakura. Instead, he kept his gaze staring at the garden before him. "It's warmer here than there," he said quietly. "I…didn't remember that."

Sakura didn't know how to reply to that, but she didn't have to as Syaoran continued a moment later, "I remember Meilin and I used to play out here a lot. We weren't allowed in the outer areas by ourselves."

Sakura smiled as she reached up to turn his head towards her and said, "Then you remember the important things. That's what really matters." He didn't speak for a long moment before he nodded just once.

After that, they sat in silence. Slowly, Sakura could feel herself growing more and more tired and slipping sideways toward him along the wall. Eventually, she leaned up against him, resting her head against his shoulder and allowed herself a small smile when he didn't flinch or shy away from her.

Upon only the precipice of awareness, she heard Syaoran speak her name softly, but she wasn't awake enough to answer. She felt Syaoran gather her in his arms, but at that moment, her only instinct was to just snuggle closer to him. She was vaguely aware of the sound of rustling blankets as she was slipping ever more into the realm of sleep. When her head hit the pillow, she curled herself into a ball to protect herself from the cool sheets. Then, she could have sworn she felt warm fingers brush her cheek softly before she finally slipped into sleep.


	15. Epilogue

Feimei could not believe that it had already been over a year since her brother had returned to them. Though her brother had not yet left the house in that time, it was inevitable that such news would not have remained a secret. As such, reporters of all kinds had plagued the front of their house for about the first month after his return. Despite the fact that not a single one of them had taken even one step onto their property, a steady stream of information about the situation had still managed to find itself online and in the newspapers.

She later learned that it was Yelan herself who had been the one giving them information. When she asked her mother why, Yelan explained that it was better to give them a carefully constructed story rather than having one of them stumble across the real truth.

During this time, Syaoran and Sakura had remained pretty much inseparable. During that first month, they had remained literally at each others' sides. Finally, Sakura had moved out of his room (only to take the bedroom next door), though it hadn't been unheard of to still find them together any given morning.

It had taken a long time, but he had finally become the serious yet gentle-hearted man that he'd been promising to turn into when he was young. He didn't smile often—though he hadn't much before either—but more so when he was around Sakura. Feimei had no doubt that it was Sakura who had saved her brother.

Yet, it was all strictly platonic between them, much to Feimei's frustration.

She wanted so much for them to be together, yet the few times she'd asked Sakura about it—usually veiled in a joke—Sakura would just smile brightly and unexpectedly cheerfully say, "Oh, Syaoran doesn't love me" or something similar. And while she never said it, Feimei couldn't help but hear very clearly the word _yet_ at the end of that sentence.

But Feimei thought she could see quite clearly that her brother was very much in love with Sakura. Perhaps not so much in the beginning but more and more each passing day. She could see it in the way that he looked and smiled at her in a way that he did no one else. That was what irritated Feimei (and Tomoyo with whom she had remained in contact) to no end.

Especially when she watched them together.

Such as now.

Dinner had always been a rather quiet affair in the Li household and today was no exception. Even Sakura was unusually subdued when meal time rolled around. Yet, this time, she and Syaoran kept looking at each other with strange cryptic glances that Feimei wished desperately that she could interpret. Yelan did her typical questioning on what everyone had been doing during the day and nothing seemed out of the ordinary from what either Sakura or Syaoran said.

But Feimei sensed that something else was going on all the same. And she was proven right the moment her mother set her utensils down after her final bite.

"Mother," Syaoran said with an almost hesitant tone in his voice.

Yelan arched her eyebrow at him as she said neutrally, "Yes, son?"

"I—" he began to say but stopped after that. He looked over at Sakura, who gave him a bright smile and an encouraging nod. He straightened in his seat and raised his chin just the barest fraction of an inch before he said firmly, "I'm leaving."

Shocked silence filled the room after this announcement. Feimei, who had been resting her head on her head, straightened and let her hand fall back into her lap. She had not been expecting this—she wasn't sure anything could have surprised her more. She was absolutely speechless. Feimei had been hoping that those glances and things meant that he was going to announce something like he was going to marry Sakura (or at the very least that they were finally together), not that he was leaving.

Yelan's aura almost imperceptibility became disapproving—something Syaoran might not pick up on as he had only been around his mother less than a quarter of his life. "Why?" Yelan asked bluntly. "And where will you go? I was hoping to introduce you into the company soon, if you felt like leaving the complex."

Syaoran nodded faintly. "I understand that, Mother," he said. "But I know I'm not suited for it yet. Eriol educated me enough that I could pass the examinations for high school, but no further than that. I have a lot to learn before I can be a part of the company, as you wish."

Yelan looked surprised at first, but then she nodded thoughtfully. "Of course," she said quietly. "I should have thought of that." She waved her hand flippantly. "It will not be a problem to get you into a university."

Looking hesitant again, he looked once more to Sakura, who gave him another bright smile and nod. She also laced her hand into his and gave his hand a squeeze. "I know that, but I can't just yet," he said as he gave his full attention back to Yelan. "There is something I must do with Sakura first."

Feimei perked up at this bit of news. Barely suppressing a squeal of glee, she asked, "Are you finally going to marry her?"

"Wha—? That's not what I—" Syaoran sputtered adamantly as a flush-looked flashed across his face. Sakura had her hands over her face and was giggling almost uncontrollably. Feimei grinned at her brother's reaction—that he hadn't shut down his emotions or ignored the question entirely was an improvement in so many ways.

"If you are seeking my approval," Yelan interjected calmly. "I must admit that I have been expecting it for a while."

If anything, Syaoran looked even more flustered at his mother's statement. Sakura got a hold of her laughter and laid a hand on Syaoran's arm. "I'll explain it to them," she said. Syaoran looked at her and shrugged. She looked first at Feimei and then at Yelan as she said, "Syaoran and I are leaving to go find the Reed Clan."

A terse silence filled the air of the room after that. Feimei frowned and she saw her mother's lip twitch downward as well. Sakura bit her bottom lip as she looked at Syaoran, whose face had etched into the familiar neutrality that they had all come to known in the year since he rejoined them. It was finally Yelan who spoke. "And what do you expect to do when you find them? Are you seeking revenge?" There was worry and disapproval buried in her tone that would only be apparent to those who knew her well.

Sakura shook her head quickly. "No, no," she said. "That's not it at all." She launched into the tale of how she and Syaoran had been joined together by their Clows after they were born and what Clow Reed had wanted to accomplish when he created the **Hope** in the first place. "He may have kidnapped Syaoran," Sakura said quietly as she finished. "But the Reed Clan still belongs together with us. We're going to find them, so that we can bring the families all together again."

Silence reigned for a moment after she finished, but then, to Feimei's surprise, Syaoran spoke again. "I will return and go to university and become part of the company, or whatever else you wish, but this is something that we have to do."

"I see," Yelan said. After another second she came to her feet, and Feimei rose with her out of habit. Syaoran and Sakura also came to their feet as Yelan walked over to them. Feimei was shocked when she wrapped her arms around Syaoran and drew him into a hug. She spoke so quietly that Feimei barely heard what her mother said. "If this is something you feel you must do, I will not stop you. I only ask that you return as quickly as you can and to be safe."

Slowly, Syaoran's arms reached up and wrapped around his mother—the very first time that he had ever returned her affection since arriving home. Yelan's face looked minutely surprised before her face blossomed into a smile. Feimei felt the tears burning in her eyes as her hand lifted up to cover her trembling lips. Sakura was almost bouncing with excitement as her smile was as brilliant as Feimei had ever seen it.

Yelan let her arms fall as Syaoran stepped out of the embrace. "When are you leaving?" she asked.

"Not for a week or so," Syaoran answered. "We'll wait for Meilin to get back so that we will not have to leave her behind if she wishes to join us."

"And Tomoyo's going to go with us, too," Sakura said cheerfully. "She'll be arriving in a few days."

Yelan nodded and the tense emotional air of the room was broken. Syaoran took Sakura's hand as they began to leave the room. "Oh," Sakura said just as they reached the doorway with an impish smile on her face. "And we are getting married."

"Sakura!" Syaoran exclaimed, looking more shocked than her mother or how Feimei felt.

Sakura gazed innocently up at Syaoran as she asked, "What? You finally said you loved me the other day, didn't you?"

Syaoran sputtered incoherently for a moment before he stuttered, "Yes, but I haven't…I didn't…I _never_ said anything about getting married!"

Sakura cocked her head to the side as she blinked confusedly at him. Feimei looked at her mother, who gave her an amused gaze back. She had to wonder if Sakura was really that clueless and dense or whether it was all an act. She suspected that it was mostly the former as Sakura didn't seem to have a mean cell in her body. "But you don't love anyone more than me. Right?"

Syaoran shot his mother and Feimei an almost panicked glance—as if he would rather be talking about _anything_ else at that moment than this—before he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "No, I don't, but…" he trailed off as he ran a hand through his hair. Muttering, he said, "Now you sound like Meilin…"

Blinking in surprise, she asked, "Meilin? Why?"

"Oh, I remember this," Feimei said as she realized what her brother was talking about. Grinning eagerly, she said, "Wasn't Meilin determined to marry you because she was sure there wasn't another girl you liked more than her?"

Sakura glanced quickly back and forth between Feimei and Syaoran, who was looking more uncomfortable by the second. "Really?"

"Yes," Syaoran said reluctantly. With that, he finally escaped out the door. Sakura quickly followed after him and they could hear her calling questions at him down the hall. Feimei finally let out the laughter she had been holding, determined to share this new development with Tomoyo as soon as possible.

"Time is amazing," Yelan said suddenly quietly. There was a peaceful smile on her face. Sobering slightly, Feimei nodded in response.

Finally, at last, Syaoran was back.

* * *

><p><em>Final Notes: I know this doesn't seem like the end, but it is. Sorry, but no sequels or anything like that. This story was more about Sakura rescuing Syaoran (as Beauty once rescued the Beast) than anything else. I feel like the story is over and I will let you imagine the rest. Thanks for reading!<em>


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